Cage of Birds
by grayfox11738
Summary: Its never easy letting a person in. First you get to know them and see if anything can come out of it. In his situation he never cared about anyone enough to do this. Not since she died. Now in the middle of a game can this shattered man play his role and allow others to save his soul? Only one way to find out. OC x Harem. Progressively dark. Grey Protagonist.
1. Black Dog

**Chapter 1: Black Dog**

* * *

Where in the underworld was I?

How long have I been asking myself this question I wonder?

It didn't take long since my arrival before I found myself sitting in a chair in a room with some manner of strange contraptions within it. There's this glowing oval/box combination like machine to my right with a red cylinder shape plastered on the front. It keeps making a humming noise which wouldn't have interest me if not for the fact that it's doing this without Od or magic power.

I scanned the room for possible exits with only one being the door I used to come in here. I was escorted into this strange room some time ago and told to wait for a "specialist" of some sort. The only thing that's really keeping me here is the food I was promised. Food that I just so happen don't have to pay for. I almost can't wait. For the last… couple centuries I haven't eaten anything. That's too long for any mortal man to go without the sweet taste of fresh apple pie or the delicious metallic flavor of raw but slightly cooks oxen leg.

Pushing my awareness out from my mortal body I watched the many beings outside of these walls. Times have changed drastically since last I've walked the human world. When I think back to the hundreds of years they're all a blur. The nonstop fight to survive in a world where half the beings there happened to be put there by you.

The Abyss: A world of spirits as dark as night and monsters with souls shrouded in blackness.

Nonstop. The struggle was constant and never ending. I fought for my soul until it became a constant chore. Move and attack. Slash and bash. Kill and consume. It never ended during my search for an escape. I need any escape and to return back to my life before. Instead of Fugeki castle I landed here in this strange and unfamiliar world. The strange manner in which people dress and the technology is… startling.

I've witnessed a bird made of metal taking off into the air with humans of every shape and size in its stomach. It's an airaplane, I believe they called it. Strange name, but then again everything here is just so strange.

The memories I took from this one girl I came across helped. It's how I discovered that this place is a port for these air ships. She assisted me with discovering more about this world, about the people, and what counts as modern times. My time is seen as ancient history long past, but I'm relieved that my actions didn't lead to the genocide of the human race. It's worked out well enough even though the magi plane is all but cut off from this world, its door ways are forever sealed, and I'll never see my mistress ever again.

To this day I'm not entirely sure why I went this Far East to begin with. I do know that those witches failed in the end. Though, I did find myself here in the middle of a stone road with metal birds soaring overhead. They did say I'd never return so in a way they did succeed.

Since I didn't know anything about where I was or when I surveyed the area a bit. I found myself surrounded by eastern men and women not that I was shocked. I was banished to the Abyss in the middle of Japan. I wouldn't have had a problem any of the people here if not for the man in which they all dressed. How they walked and presented themselves made my skin crawl. These people themselves have always been on the slender side, expect when it came to its nobles. I've found that everyone around me aren't only skinnier but almost so scrawny. It's almost as if they've erased **The Way** and **mystic arts** from their way of life.

The spirit I felt inside each and every one of them is meager and pathetic. It's like they only have enough chi in their bodies to stay alive and enough ki to move at, I'm afraid to say, human limitations.

I noticed the stares I was receiving as I walked throughout the passage ways. I heard the not so subtle whispers about my "strange" way of dressing. They've no room to talk at all about how I dress from what I am seeing. They look and dress worse than the English or the Scottish Highlanders. I dress in the traditional robes of an assassin which are always in style no matter the year from what I heard. Despite my disdain towards their words it's still significant to take note of. If the general populace finds my clothing strange, then it's memorable. What's memorable is identifiable. If I can be identified I can be tracked and that's unacceptable. I need to change clothing and soon.

I could barely understand the dialect these people used. I've long but became quite fluent in Japanese but the way they use it is strange. Some words are mixed and slurred together. I've studied at least eight different dialects and this one is new. This one sort of sounds like three of the old merged together. I could pick out most of it but not all. Language barriers are not acceptable, but I'm hesitant to bleed the mind of another just to get me up to speed. It wouldn't take too long, maybe a minute at the most, but I could kill the one I'd drain by accident.

The girl I drained will be fine because something as common as times and modern-day life isn't hard to leech. Language, the bed rock of the individual, isn't so easy to take. Because the birth and home language of a human is so closely tied to them as a person and so their soul I'd have to apply more force to the drain. More force to these people would kill them for sure, and I try not to kill innocents. Accidents do happen though. By being here could be classified as one of them.

Eventually, I found myself at a desk with a glowing thing on top that the bystanders in front of me their hands on. When they did this the gate in front of them to the building outside opened though not magically. It was interesting, and I became curious of its functions.

When it was my turn I mirrored what I witnessed before and placed my hand on the gate opener thing. Instead of the gate opening it made a noise and the surface turned red like fire. I was asked to do it again which I did to more noises and then a buzzing sound. I was told to stand by and this man put a box to his head and started talking to it. I was confused on why a man would talk to a box but then notice it light up. I concluded that it could mimic the workings of a responder spell to talk to others across distances, and so I waited and was escorted to this room. I was told I could order anything I wanted under the expense of another.

My stomach grumbled angrily, and I placed a hand on top to calm it a bit. My stomach is seconds from caving in. I can almost taste the meat to come that I ordered. Almost.

The second I heard the door handle click I almost jumped to my feet to ambush the food before it had a chance to reach me. Instead of food and a different kind of food I could eat "walked" in. While this left me disappointed I was still curious. This had to be the "Specialist" that I was told about. An older mature woman in the age range of thirty or forty summers maybe with grey short shaggy hair, grey eyes, and a white coat that fell to her ankles walked inside. I studied the woman as she pulled some manner of pad up to her chest and poked it.

The older woman wasn't alone. Behind her came another woman and still no food. Yet again I found myself disappointed that yet again it wasn't my food. My disappointment though was severely overshadowed by the haunting curiosity spawned by this new woman. A woman with the same shade of hair but sleeker and longer tied back into a long ponytail. The second woman has her eyes closed as well or maybe they're squinted so much you that can't see her eyes. She's obviously able to walk normally without hitting anything. I can feel her eyes one me as well. The second woman is noticeably younger than the first one but seems tired with the bags under her eyes. The older woman doesn't show the spiritual signs of fatigue.

This second woman wore some manner of formfitting black leather outfit that stopped at her lower thighs. I will admit she has some nice legs on her and her skin was a little too flawless as well. I couldn't see a cut, blemish, bump, or any form of scaring on her body at all unlike on the older woman that still looked worth mating with despite her age.

Another thing is the nodachi she held in her left hand. A woman with a nodachi is strange. Even I don't bother with using such an oversized weapon. It's as long as she was from head to shin. It's strange but a relief to find a swordsman err… woman in this place. Her power trumps all that I've sensed since my arrival. I've met few warriors with such high ki and chi reserves within their bodies. Only a few males and only two females, one not even being human, can measure up against this female. I can tell just by the flow of her energy that this one isn't exactly human. Neither is she an apostle nor one of the deathless. That leaves me to wonder just was this woman is anyway.

The woman's hoari was an interesting shade of gray with black seams and that bloodlust that I could feel emitting off her practically made her haori float behind her like a cape. I've felt worse bloodlust, but I'm still a bit inquisitive. The white coat cladded woman though is just as imposing. With her ki she could smash a man's skull with a punch. It seems this time isn't as lost as I first thought, not that I know all that much myself.

I spent most of my long life in the west and only went so far in teachings of Chinese martial arts and the use of Ki. My chi and Od are top of the class though. I know that from my time as a master assassin and witch crafter I can mold the spirit of the almost anyone. Most of my teachings are spawned from my traveling of the land. Dealing with Immortals are also part of this. It's a shame and annoyance when I meet them as well as a shame to kill anything immortal, but sometimes you have to push back.

I watched the woman take their respected comfortable positions before me and let my eyes wandered them. Normally when two attractive women come into a room to greet me I'd be a little more respectful and give a greeting, but I'm hungry enough drink and eat a banquet bare. I just want my food. Gods I can only go so far without food. Damn it, I need some food!

"It's coming."

"Huh?" I looked up to the mature woman as her eyes studied my own.

"You said you needed food, and I said it is coming. Just be patient," she spoke calmly.

"I… see." I was thinking out loud again. This problem has persisted for so long now. If this woman said it was coming I couldn't really call her out on it. I'm too tired to think all that clearly right now. Once I leave I'll need to rest for a couple days after getting my fill.

"I should introduce myself," the white coated woman pronounced. I turned my attention from my bracer on my left forearm to the woman sitting down across from me. I don't care about her name or what she wanted from me. Even if it wanted to stop me it's not like it'll be hard to dispose of.

The woman leaning on the wall though is a different story. She'll be a challenge to escape from. This is especially true whilst in my weakened state. I might have to sacrifice something of mine to escape her. I don't want to but my life is more important than the clothes on my back. I won't give up my blades though. That's something I cannot do.

"My name is Takami Sahashi representative of MBI," the woman introduced herself. Her tone was rigid much like her poised figure. She sat with her thing on the table regarding me with mixture seriousness but calm. Her stillness as well is near flawless, but within her I see her ferocious temperament just barely contained behind fleeting restraints. I feel if push she'd become a lioness in moments.

She came off as self-important with her introduction almost like it's a name I should be acquainted. She revealed a group of sorts as well, but I've never heard of this MBI thing before. Such a surprise that I haven't though since I just arrived here. It does sound medical related though. Doctors always come up with strange acronyms for simple things. Why call it MBI instead of simple headache medicine? It's mundane and quite annoying trying to figure out what words coincide with the letters.

I didn't voice my thoughts and remained silent. I need more information before I can begin questioning this woman or the other one staring at me like I'm a waste of skin.

The wait and see approach is preferable.

This Takami woman gestured backwards towards the inhuman woman standing behind her with her back to the wall and arms crossed over her chest. "This is my associate. Her name is Karasuba."

"A pleasure," I said to this woman though. Her power is worth respecting. Enough to display the simplest of pleasantries.

This Karasuba woman screams inhuman monster to me. The matter in which she looks at me, her intimidating and fierce presence, and yet aloof expression left me wary. It's the complete opposite of her aura. I can tell that if she and I were to cross I wouldn't leave unscathed while holding back in my most basic form. If I keep the demons at bay during this battle it'd end with me missing most of my blood and maybe an arm.

'What sort of energy is that coursing throughout her circuits?' I asked myself internally.

Her aura… it's strong but clouded by anger, disgust, and a bit of envy as well. Emotions are lucid. The strong you are and more aura you display the clear they became to differentiate. Despite the couple bags under her eyes I'm not fooled by the visuals like I was in my youth. The spirit says it all.

Her spirit is large and ready to clash against another's. She desires to clash with my own. She wishes not to fight me but to kill me. Killer intent this strong is almost like that of Trager. That monster took a long time to put down because of its sheer size and Od capacity. This woman who's much smaller than myself has me compare her to that monster.

Interesting.

I can assume that the only reason this Takami brought this woman with her is because she's the muscle.

"Huh?" The woman glanced up at me, but I quickly shook my head.

I cleared my throat before continuing. "Nothing, I was only mumbling out loud."

Takami stared at me for a second longer judging my every action. Eventually let it go and went back to messing with that thingy in her hands with a bright top. She's touching the top repeatedly with many different shapes and colors changing every now and again the more she touched it. It looked interesting to a point that I leaned forward for a better look but quickly lost interest.

I caught the Karasuba woman looking at me with her eyes slightly more open but not enough for me to see the color. She's not specifically looking at me but certain places on my body. My right shoulder, my left and right hip, my left wrist, and the only visible hilt sticking out from my back. She could see each and every sword, knife, and pointed object I have equipped. I fiddled with the blade on my bracer and this made her eyes open slightly. I could almost see an eye color but then there was a knock at the door.

"Enter," this white clad woman ordered. The door opened a second later and the smell of food slammed into me. The smell of meat and meat and more meat. My gods it smells too good.

"Ahh semimasen."

The Takami woman was speaking in English a moment ago and now some man walked in speaking Japanese once more. I closed my eyes and slowly shifted my mental sources around to understand this new age Japanese they speak now.

I remember from the woman's memories what my ability could be called. "Universal translator." I've broken into the minds of many people of many different languages around the world, but I can't key onto them out right. My mental capacity may be grand but it isn't infinite. Much of the space is taken up by the ethereal beings within me so I've had to store many of my languages away in small compartments where I can't access them. I can hold only three languages at a time it seems. It used to be seven. I didn't need any more than two languages in the shadow land. One for magic and one to communicate with the beings within that world.

I quickly equipped Japanese, the sort I learned from my friend Mitsumi and Kuu when I heard this shift in dialect. I remember well when we worked together. I wonder now if they ever found peace and family like I wished for them. Kuu more than likely died in mid job but Mitsumi for sure became the cook she always wanted to be. I can only pray it came to be for the two of them to find happiness.

The next is English. The same Takami used when she spoke to me. It's very different compared to the English of my time, but I can get the jist of what she says. The last language of course is the language of the spirits. Spell casting at the ready. I've had more than a couple lifetimes worth of practice in the Abyss. My magic proved the most effective against them. It will prove the same against these sacks of soft tissues and organs.

Huh? What is tissue?

"Your order is here and we... uhhh," the man stopped and held the door open.

I broke from my thoughts as five carts of food came inside the room a moment later with everything I ordered. A pitcher of wine from France that was aged to fourteen years after the 20th century and a gallon of water just to get most of the food down came with it like I desired. Whole platters of different dishes from across the world that I wished to try were spread out on the table. I've never really eaten like a noble before, so I decided to give it a try for once.

"That's... a lot of food." Takami deadpanned at the table was set and my stomach growled.

A slip of paper was given to the Takami woman and I swear she uttered the loudest sigh I've ever heard when she looked at it. I didn't care though because in under a minute half of the meat, rice, vegetables, and wine I had was in my stomach.

"Gods above look at him go." Takami said with a disgusted scoff.

I was going fast in my unrelenting attempt to drink down the food as if it was water. So good. After ten minutes I found my stomach full and my appetite sated for now until another 30 minutes when I'm finished digesting. I sighed in more pleasure and relief than I've ever before as the wide eyes of Takami stuck to me like an arrow to the throat. Karasuba adopted a smirk on her lips that caused one to fall on mine as well.

"That's quite the inhuman appetite you have there," the Karasuba woman finally spoke. Her voice is surprisingly pleasing to the ears. It sounded mature but only slightly fluid. It's almost like she doesn't speak that much, and her vocal cords aren't used to being used as much. It's slightly raspy.

I finally saw her eyes and they instantly took my interest. The eyes are a gateway to the soul and what I saw confound me. This woman is truly warped and twisted, and I wonder by what. I recognize the eyes of a killer much like myself, but she seems to take a disturbing pleasure out of it. I wish to classify this woman as a monster to be beheaded or evil enough to be vanquished, but for some strange reason I can't. For some reason when I look into her I see the eyes of woman that's lost in the past. A woman with a hole in her heart. Almost someone I can relate to.

"W-where did you put it all?"

Time resumed from our stare down. I looked away from the smiling Karasuba back to Takami. I tilted my head slightly at Takami's question and shrugged. "I'm a pit of death." I said quite seriously. Takami though just stared at me with a blank expression.

"Ah-huh," she sort of hummed I think. Takami shook her head and went back to fingering her rectangular panel thing.

It was nice finally to eat. I can feel the energy filling my body again after a couple minutes. I started the process of healing my cuts and bruises as the energy came. I could feel my body bask in the Od around and within to assist with healing me. This is including the slashed eye in my right socket. I opened my right eye and blinked as my vision turned from blurry to clear. I could feel my left arm and my right leg again. The pain stacked as feeling came back to life all around my body, but I used my ki to numb the pain for now. Major cuts and scaring were taken care of but only so much could be rush restored. I'm not a wizard of restoration and my lack of elf dust makes this more difficult when it comes to the more minor wounds. I let them be for now.

I leaned back in my chair contempt enough for one day and waited for the woman to talk but it seems she was waiting for me instead.

"You're finished?" She questioned.

I doubt the woman even noticed that I was slowly healing myself and curious more about the movements I made. The subtle and sudden alike. I physically checked myself as I healed my body. I rubbed certain parts of my legs and hips, and massaged my sore muscles.

The final push to the world door took everything out of me. The shadows protected that door with all their might. They took the shape of the nightmarish creatures I've killed or the people I met and decided to never harm for as long as they lived. A trick the shadow beings used many times over that being why I developed the ability to see past the physical boundaries. I could see the real shape of their souls instead of what they formed into. I ignored the voices of Fredrick, Horst, Dahlia, and the many other shapes. I would never be contained or trapped in that place forever, and I succeeded in escaping.

I closed my eyes, not that they could see, and looked past the physical barrier. I found it weird to use it here. In the shadow world everything moves. The walls shift from in place to the next. Here the walls are completely black and solid. They don't have a presence to them. The humans around me outside the room and in this room are o dim. They almost mirror the lifelessness of the walls. This Karasuba though is different. She's a sun that illuminates the darkness that is this lifeless world. So very much different from shadow sprites.

Beautiful.

"Ohh, really?" The woman mused.

I nodded without thinking about it. My spirit sight faded away from to see this goddess, in comparison to the humans around me. This Karasuba woman opened her eyes halfway to look at me finally showing me the color. Grey like her hair. Her outer iris is red but the inner portion is grey. The smile on her lips grew a little more out of bemusement, but this only furthered to make my interest grow. It grew to the point that I had to ask, "What are you exactly?"

The Takami woman blinked at me and asked back, "what do you mean "what is she'?"

I didn't stop looking at Karasuba at all. She has my full attention. I looked into her eyes to take in much more information about this woman that fascinates me.

She's not a demon in human flesh.

She's not an elf in disguise to hide her ears.

She's not human and yet she looked like nothing else other than human.

What in the 13 worlds is this woman? She's something new I've never discovered. Not a magic user or a paladin and yet her pathways and core are so very like one. Their paths come together in one central point in her body. The angel core, the central light within angels of God, have the same circuits and power sphere within them. That though is bestowed upon them by their god. This woman isn't an angel. She has no wings, and no matter what form they take I can always see the wings of an angel or demon. Whether from heaven, hell, or the nether realm I can always see their wings or horns. This woman isn't anyone of those. That begs a single question.

"What race are you?" I asked next. Again, I received looks of shock from the Takami and amusement from the Karasuba.

"What race do you think I am monkey?" She mocked. She's not human or even part human. That 'monkey' comment is used by anything other than humans when race is brought up. We're the monkey race. Hairless apes. I've heard it all before. It's comical that racism hasn't changed even in this era I found myself in. I don't how many years in the future I've escaped into but looking at the possible consequences if I had stayed this was probably for the best. I get to meet new races of inhuman beings like this one. This woman isn't an angel or even tied to the supernatural aspect of life. That energy she has stems from the soul, but her soul isn't like mine. She's nothing like anything I've ever seen or felt before. I'm a little anxious to see what hunting this thing would be like.

Would the hunt be long or short? Would it be clean or bloody? Would it satiate the beast or leave me longing for more until madness takes me? I took that moment to formulate a strategy to kill her and what to compare her to. It has a core but no wings. Even a fallen angel keeps their wings unless they are truly forsaken. A true fallen angel that lost her wings and so can never find you way back within the grace of god ever again. That's the only race can think of.

"Are you a fallen angel?" I probed her.

Karasuba gave me a wide eyed look before bursting into a fit of laughter. She gripped her stomach and leaned over as she laughed hysterically. "Me?" The woman chuckled again. "A fallen angel?" She may have laughed as if finding this amusing, but I can tell she's conflicted on the inside. Maybe I'm on to something.

"She's not a fallen angel," Takami sighed. "You must be Christian to believe in God and his angels then."

Christian? Is that another name for a Protestant faith? It could be. I've never believed in gods of any faith. I know they exist after all I've met a few, fought a few, and killed one, but as far as believing in them I can't find it within me to do that. I do have one that I respect more than any other. I'm not sure what belief in their religion entails but she saved my life, my soul, and my very existence. It's a debt I've yet to repay. Even now she guides my hand and watches from above. It's not night time, but I can feel her again after so long. It feels good.

The Takami woman tapped the panel thing again and laid it back down on table. "About an hour ago I got a call about a fault in our identification scanners. It seems that someone that's not in the system placed their hand on the scanner that caused most of the alarms in MBI to go off. I've scanned your prints and what sample of your DNA I could work with and found nothing on you. Can you remove you hood while I'm talking to you?"

"No," I stated.

Takami narrowed her eyes at me. "Why not?"

"Because I don't wish to so I will not. That is," I tilted my head a bit to the left. "Unless you wish to attempt to take it off for me." My challenge was in plain sight which made the grey haired woman frown. She looked over to Karasuba to which the woman shrugged and went back to leaning quietly on the wall.

"I need to see your face."

"No you don't, you just wish too," I returned swiftly. I can see the truth and intent in her eyes. I know her type well from my time in the Vatican. The scholar types that wish to unravel the unknown out of their hate for it; that was then, and this is now, but somethings never change. I doubt the Vatican survived that much longer after the Betrayal.

"Fine, can you tell me your name?"

"No," I said once more.

Takami's eye twitched. "And what is the reason this time, because I won't accept the "because I wish not to' excuse again."

"Because," I shook my head. "I have no name to give. I never wanted a name to be honest."

"What do you mean you have no name?"

"That is what I mean. I was born a bastard without a name to call my own. For the longest time I've only went with what other's decided to call me for some form of familiarity," I explained casually. It's not like I'm capable of giving her crucial information about me right now. I'm clear headed now.

"Fine," she woman waved off the previous question. "What would you call yourself from the many names you've acquired then?"

I thought in it for a moment. I've been called many things but never have I tried to name myself. Most of the time my presence was associated with a color or a title not an actual name. Maybe that can work for her if they do need a name to identify me with.

"You can call me Jäger if you wish it." I'm The Hunter after all so why not.

Takami rose her brow. "You're German then?"

German? What is a German? I can assume they're a group of people like the Irish or the French, and they just happen to be German. That's interesting that the title I gave them is German. I didn't answer or give any indication that she's right or wrong. I can accept being called German I suppose. It doesn't really matter to me.

"I can safely assume that's your last name correct?" I didn't answer so she continued. "What's your full name?"

This cycles back to the problem of me not having a name to fall back on. If I had a name my mother died before I could find out what it was. Jäger is one title that I've earned over the years from my marks and anyone that got in the way. I couldn't help but let them follow their masters into the abyss. Most days with force and a headless body as proof. I could just use a second title to go with the last. One that goes well with Jäger and symbolizes myself or my actions. It could go back to my roots maybe.

"Otieno," I answered for I was born in the night and lived for it for many years. "Otieno D. Jäger is what you can call me Missus. Sahashi."

"I'm not married," she said dully.

This brought out more confusion. This woman has given birth. Many years of her life were taken off to give birth to her one maybe three children. Or maybe it's one extremely strong child that used the life of the others to empower it. I know the scent of a woman that has given birth and yet she's not married. By the small shine of irritation I see within her eyes the man she procreated with isn't in the beyond and instead a source of aggravation.

Before her thoughts would remain constant by the mention of her man who isn't her man she sighed letting go of her strong emotions and calmed down. She does have children though and now that I know this I can key on her signature and find them if they reside within this city. If she becomes a threat to me I can use them as a means of controlling her. **If** she becomes a threat. I need more information before I can place her on the scale.

"What's your profession?" She asked but I only looked at her in confusion. She sighed then clarify. "What do you do to finance your cost of living?"

"How do I get by you mean," I asked dryly.

"Yes!" She exclaimed.

She should have just said it that way instead of using words I don't know or recognize. "I do many things."

"Like what?" she ushered me impatiently.

"I am a baker," I started off with.

"You're a baker?" Her tone told me that she didn't believe me.

Was it that hard to believe? Where I came from it was normal for my kind to have multiple professions.

"I'm also blacksmith, furnisher, herbalist, and an artisan." I listed off a few of the many occupations I've held.

I can make my own weapons and enchant them if need be. Many times I've created and designed weapons for others for a healthy sum of money or other types of compensation. I can recreate clothing as well as repair it from many years of doing my own self repairs. I'm barely decent at it, but I do have some skill. I can make furniture from a wardrobe to a bed. Baking anything from bread to pies or cakes are a bit of a past time. My mother taught me and I've fostered this skill. Making poisons, potions, and tonics came to me with ease. Because of my powers I can survive many different poisons until they become ineffective. I can create poisons without any warnings or symptoms until the moment you breathe your last breath.

It all helps calm the mind much and stops my body from going into its "contact" phase at random intervals.

"A potion maker?" Takami questioned me.

"Yes," I answered quickly. "I can make potions to place you in a state of fake death which I've made four times in my life. The people that used it all ended up killing others or themselves in the end. It all comes down to what I needed at the time and how long I had to make it."

Takami rose an eyebrow at the list of professions I gave her. "Really?" Again she worded in a tone of disbelief. "Is hemlock a good herb for a tonic?"

"It can be used for either a potion for feint death state but has to be coupled with devil's shoestring, Juniper root, and a few other herbs as well. Alongside a few other ingredients, it can be a poison that kills a grown man between twenty to thirty breaths. With a little nightshade, some cobra venom, and a few other ingredients it's lowered to between one to three breaths to kill a fully grown man."

Takami's stared at me in shock with her jaw dropped bit. She quickly recovered and cleared her throat. "Well," she coughed again. "You sound like you at least have an idea of what you're talking about." She still didn't believe me it seems. I just nodded again and let her create her own assumptions of me. "You're an unknown in the system and have all these professions. Couple together with your armament it leaves me to wonder just who or what are you?"

I looked away from the woman. What could I say to her? This world's majority probably doesn't believe in the supernatural world: monsters, beasts, shadows, or any other threat I've faced in my years in this life. I wager most of these beings are nothing more than folklore much like the elves in my time. I can tell her that I hunt beasts, demons, and evil that wear the faces of men, but what'd be the point? She'd think I'm insane, and I've seen what happened to those deemed insane by the masses. I could tell her anything but because of my curse I can't lie. I have to tell her some form of truth but not the whole truth.

"You know who I am or at least what I've told you." My answer made Takami's eye twitch a little. I continued despite this. "As for what I am… I'm a human being if that's what you're wondering. Much like yourself Ms. Sahashi." I corrected my suffix seeing that she told me she's not married. It's probably a good thing that she's not married. This type of woman would eat most hardened men whole, in one bite, and with them kicking and screaming on the way down.

"You keep bringing that up. What's human and what isn't. Why is that?"

I gestured Karasuba's way then brought my attention back to Takami. "I believe the woman behind you isn't human," I said truthfully.

"Yes I'm a "fallen angel' or didn't you hear Mrs. Sahashi," the Karasuba flapped her arms like they were wings and doing well to mock the two of us.

Takami ignored Karasuba for me. "What do you feel from her to make you believe she's not human?"

I said nothing.

"Okay then what are you doing in Shinto Teito?" Takami demanded.

"I am not so sure myself," I answered earnestly.

Takami slammed her hand on the table, "Bullshit! I don't know who or what you are, but I was called in the middle of important work to investigate a glitch in our system which just so happens to be caused by you, because YOU are not even in the system. I have cross threaded your DNA to find a next of kin to nothing. You're an enigma that just so happens to be able to feel if something isn't 'human'! Your name is a bunch of titles at most and what they come together to form isn't humorous in the least. You're visually armed in every way and immune to our serum"

I had a feeling that the food they gave me was spiked with something, but I didn't know what. What sort of serum was it I wonder because I couldn't feel a thing? Whatever it was it made this woman upset that it didn't work despite all the time we've sat here.

"I'll ask you again, and I better get an answer. Just who do you work for? A rival company trying to get a leg up on us. Some form of agency or military that knows too much and trust me you will talk."

I said nothing.

"Well, are you going to say anything?"

I shrugged, "I was mostly tuning out all the yelling you were doing. You seem like the sort of woman that could yell a man's ear off." And since that was the first time she's asked me any of those questions I was a bit overwhelmed as well.

Karasuba started to chuckle but instead of sounding cute it was more like the phantom laugh of a rave demon that's slowly approaching its prey and the soul it's been hunting for years. Takami glanced hard at the other woman to which she brushed off and looked back to me with a ghost of a smile.

"Okay… if you don't wish to talk to me or even listen you can talk to her." Takami gestured to the woman leaning on the wall. "And trust me you don't want that."

I almost huffed at his woman. I don't like to be threatened without a justified cause and right now this doesn't feel justified. No matter what sort of torture they can imagine doing to me they would never break a spirit like mine. It's been broken too many times to feel anything. I feel very few things. Pain is one constant same with disappointment.

"There isn't much you can threaten me with."

"I doubt that," Karasuba sneered. "I could kill you."

"My life means nothing to nobody so it doesn't matter. I don't matter," I confessed blankly. After all I'm just a tool used and thrown away by human masters until the time I questioned my role. Then I betrayed my colors and turned against everything. I killed my old masters and many more that tried to claim ownership over my life.

I've turned against my own race and killed more humans than I wish to count. Some days I'm ashamed to be human because of the atrocities our kind caused to myself and the races that wanted nothing but to be left alone. The elves took the blunt of human might and I was at the forefront. I don't feel regret, but I'm sure if I did fighting men wouldn't be one of them.

I've never liked killing until you bring up monsters like the orcs. I've never liked fighting, but I do like stacking my life against another's. Most of the time it ends in a clash. Now that I've eaten I'm eager to get moving to walk off most of this food. I'm wasting time sitting here doing nothing accept failing to entertain a couple females with issues as tall as a mountain. Even I can see it. Though they have mixed reactions from my response it seems.

"May I leave now?" I looked around the room I'm tired of.

"Did you seriously just ask that?" Takami asked with drooped eyes.

"I believe I just did, yes. I don't see a reason to hold me much longer. If you let me go on my way I won't cause trouble for your organization or business or whatever it is you work for. I can tell you that I'm new to this city but not eager to cause trouble. I can also tell you I work for no one but myself. If you believe I'm a spy then you're very mistaken. I don't care for things that don't involve me and it is best you don't involve me into your MBI thing Sahashi Takami." I took a breath after that.

Takami glared at me. A glare so hot a lesser man would've been set aflame or at least ruffled. I couldn't care what this woman's opinion of me is. I just wish to leave and go about my business. I may be in a new world, but it's not the first time this has happened to me. Times have changed but humans never do.

"You think highly of yourself don't you?" She sounded like she was a mixture of impressed but also aggravated by my reactions.

The human woman hummed and went back to her thingy moving her hands over the top. Suddenly there was noise around me that pierced my brain with how loud it was. It stopped but then started up again. It repeated five more times but by the third I had my fingers over my ears to protect my drums from bursting. The noise came to a final end. Hesitantly, I pulled my hands down but ready to cover my ears again just encase.

Why does this era have to be so noisy?

I sighed and put my attention back up to the woman sitting across from me with a questioning look in her eyes. Regardless of this she shook her head and pressed something in her thingy. The door opened a second later at first I thought for me to leave through but people started to enter wearing the same uniform as the rest of the people here in this metal nest of large steel birds.

"Food is here."

More food? I won't complain.

A woman walked over towards me with a couple utensils in hand and not chop sticks but forks, spoons, and a knife thank the gods.

"Here you are sir, please enjoy the rest of your order." I smiled at the woman looking directly into her eyes, into her soul. She gulped then averted her eyes from my own to place the utensils down in front of me.

"Thank you ma'am." The woman perked up a little and bowed to me before leaving in a little bit of a hurry than warrant. I looked down to the food with my eyes wandering around it . I stopped at the soup and smelled it.

This is tampered with again it seems. The first time I didn't really care because primal hunger blinded me, but now most of that hunger is satiated. I'm still hungry but only Just. I wonder if they assume I'll loose control all the time.

Why try to poison me for the second time. I'm immune to many concoctions and almost any combination of tonic or hallucinogens that they could come up with. A Hunter must always be of an able mind and swayed by no external sources unless self-inflicted to improve your immunities. Maybe they attempted to control my mind, because I felt pressure behind my eyes throughout their questioning. Regardless I won't fall for this a second time.

I pushed most of the food away from me. "What's wrong," the woman asked feigning genuine confusion, but I wasn't having it. If there is one thing I can't accept from people, no matter how attractive they are, you don't disrespect food in such a way.

"Nothing, it's just that if I eat so much right now it may very well kill me." I tilted my head looking up to the ceiling. "I like living and having my mind to myself. I'm sure you would agree with me." The woman stared at me but then went back to her thingy. A moment later the uniformed people walked in and took all I left away. The whole time she never broke eyesight with me. I took my hood in hand and pulled it up over my head to my forehead to show her my face and met my naked eyes with hers.

"You must take me for a fool?" We both said to each other then grunted.

"I do for the disrespect towards me, a complete stranger, woman, and for what you did to the food," I spat at her.

The woman rose an eyebrow then sighed. "You should have made this easier on yourself."

I inched my hand toward Hate. "And made what easier exactly? My capture and examination?" I nearly growled at this woman.

The woman glared at me and sat her thing down. "Listen wonder man, there's a system in place for a reason: To ensure that we have accountability for everything and everyone within the city. You are not in said system so we have problem," she made sure to stress the you and we in this as well. "You say you have no name, and usually that wouldn't be a bad thing, but in this day and age that doesn't make you a nobody. In all actuality it makes you a suspicious person."

I can accept that. She's not wrong. No matter the time or age just because you have no name doesn't mean you're insignificant.

"So, you're armed with medieval like weaponry, and you dress like some video game assassin. Those aren't props, are they?" I didn't answer but my silence seemed to be all the response she needed.

"You know your way around supplements. The first time, you ate everything like a wild animal, but despite the dose you ate being enough to comatose a blue whale," she exclaimed like I should know what that is. Still any manner of whale is large. "You're still very much awake and uncooperative. I chocked it up as maybe they didn't mix it right and tried again," the woman admitted. "The second time the moment you looked at the food you only ate and drank what wasn't tampered with. Your immune to truth serums and can pick apart what's not tampered with despite it being traceless. That begs the better question you asked before," the woman pointed at me.

"What are you exactly'?"

"There's not much I can say I already haven't," I sighed. This sort always believe there's more to reveal than necessary even if it's better to be ignorant and unaware. She's knows more than I'd prefer and should appreciate that fact I've said anything. "I've told you my professions so what else can I offer you?"

"Are you a spy or assassin or just get off by dressing like one from the 19th century?" The woman asked back completely ignoring my question.

"It depends on the instance and how much I'm paid."

"Paid?" The other woman asked, seemingly curious about this certain topic. "So you Are you an assassin?" The woman asked in a way that didn't sound like she wanted to kill me or thought of me as a lesser being. That took me by surprise for a moment but not for long. The change of tone though or something beckoned for me to speak.

"I…"

"It doesn't matter if your some sort of mercenary or not," Takami interrupted me with a rise in her voice. This one is going to be quite bothersome. "Tell me why you're here? Who is paying you?"

I barely spared the annoying woman a glance at her demands. She didn't interest me.

Two hours. That's all I need to break this woman's mind and three days to shatter her soul. That's all I need.

I took a couple breaths to put the net back up. These thoughts are supposed to be filtered through the block placed in my mind.

"I will trade information if you start," I tried to find some middle ground. While the hunt might be challenging I've no wish at the moment.

"I'm listening," Takami crossed her arms over her chest.

"If you tell me what are I'll answer one of your questions without inhibition. Sounds fair?" I looked straight at the woman in the corner. The woman's left eye cracked up a bit. That smile of hers grew a bit. It's was enough to put me on edge. I've seen a smile like that before and the aftermath that follows is usually catastrophic.

"Right back to me huh?" The woman spoke, fairly amused. "Don't you know such questions are rude when said to a lady? Calling me "that' is just rude."

I believe this woman called me a monkey earlier but let it alone. The last thing I need right now is an inhuman being with the power to tear down a house loose on me for insulting her. I've had to deal with enough overbearing females in my life and pray to the gods above it never happened again. I'm never that fortunate, sadly.

I shook my head and turned my attention away from the red and grey eye that examined me. The way she looks at me now reminds me of a tiger in the midst of its prey. That tiger happens to be cautious as well.

"Karasuba," Takami rose her voice and glanced back but the reddened eyed woman ignored her.

"What are you?" The corner woman asked back.

"I'm a Hunter," I said this impulsively. "What are you?"

"Would you like to find out?" The other eye opened and let the grip on her sword to slacken. Not to the point that it would fall but more for preparation to draw. I looked down to the knives and forks on the table and back at the woman. I might need to borrow a few if she attacks.

"I do, yes." I despise the fact that I can't recognize this thing's race and wonder just what it's capable of. I've never jumped into a hunt without preparation or silenced a target without the proper research. In this instance thought I might have to do this the hard way.

"Calm down," the human woman stood up blocking my line of sight on the being and hers on me. "I don't need you killing each other so calm down."

"It's usually good manners to exchange pleasantries before a bout. Do you agree with this?" I spoke as if the human woman said nothing.

"By pleasantries do you mean names?" Karasuba asked.

"Yes. I would like the name you go by. If you're not willing to depart with that sort of information please tell me verbally what you are."

"You already know my name monkey. Were you not listening?" I waited for her to answer and relented to stare at her. The woman in the corner chuckled and punched off the corner. "Karasuba," she said as she walked around the human woman.

That name is Japanese, but this woman doesn't look Japanese in my opinion. She's Eastern Asian but mixed with something less. English maybe by the nose and it's curvature. The brow speaks of a northern and more primal standing though. One feature to the next I've noticed many things I've seen on people of different regions but over all it's all in Europe and Eastern Asia. Her name as well… what does it mean? I dove into the knowledge of what little Japanese I took and found some manner of Kanji. Crow, I believe. Her name is Crow. That's a strong name and perfect for her. I can see it.

"That's a good name. It fits."

"Thank you." I didn't expect words of gratitude from the woman.

"Are you the ward to this woman?" I gestured towards Takami.

"Ward? That's quite an old word to use nowadays. No I'm not. I'm here to… keep the peace." Meaning she's her to respond to whatever brought Takami here and pacify it if necessary.

"Then how do I leave in a way that "keeps the peace' as you say?" I asked.

"Don't know, don't care," she stated with a shrug. "Though I know with how things are you won't get out of this any time soon."

So my only choices are to let them take me in and probably study me or run away thus breaking this "peace' and forcing me to contend with this woman.

"Karasuba," Takami growled and glared at her.

I took a breath and reached for a couple forks and knives. They watched me do this silently as I did this. "So, if I threw this knife at Takami with the aim to kill her would you attack me or save her?"

Karasuba grinned and touched the hilt of her sword. "I'd cut your hand off before it even lets a knife fly."

"Wait, there's no need…" Takami tried to say until I followed on with my words. I shot out my seat and let two of the knives in the table fly towards Takami. Each though was augmented with Ki to make them both faster and more destructive. I narrowly evaded her sword when she drew it with the aim to cut off my hand. I moved fast. Faster than she excepted which I can tell with the slight widening of her eyes. Karasuba quickly reversed and cut down the knives I threw. She cut through my energy and it's metal slapping them away.

I held four forks and two more knives left. I threw two forks at Karasuba and one more a Takami. I didn't care for what happened next. I saw everything I needed to. Karasuba is powerful and fast. Her reactions, though a bit dull, are top notch.

I shot to the door and pushed through it. It was bared and locked but that didn't stop me from kicking it open with a Ki infused kick at the knob.

A couple men in strange black outfits who surrounded the door all turned towards me. The large letters on their chest reading MBI was enough for me to know they are hostile. One drew what looks to be a metal rod of sorts. A nightstick I think. The man shot at me in some manner of stance. I slipped under his swipe and landed my elbow on his side. The man stepped back from the attack but was unfazed. He's wearing body armor? His black vest they have on took my strike even though I felt something break. I don't have time for this though.

"Capture him!" I heard from the door I burst through. I clicked my tongue and kicked a man in his stomach. When he leaned over I rolled over his back and rushed out down the hallway. I could see the signs and followed them out. While I don't know what they might mean they lead somewhere and that's good enough. I saw the word Departures in English and followed along.

"You can't escape~" I heard a familiar voice sing behind me. I glanced back and saw Karasuba right behind me. I'm rushing at my near top speed without argumentation and heat, but she's easily kept up I drew my blade Love and blocked one of her slashes. Her eyes narrowed at me and she tried again. I jumped away to the top of this cart to the other side and took another hallway instead. I'm going to have to stop her and my basic form right now isn't good enough. Sadly, it's all I have.

I took a few breathes and let a bit of the gate open. Blistering heat spread throughout my entire right arm and then to my chest. I think about a cup will do. I could see the world around me slowdown and magnify at odd places. This power of mine is what cursed me to survive. I prefer not to rely on it, but as of now I don't think I have much choice. I just have to make sure not to push it too far.

I crossed blades while vaulting over obstacles and people and the woman followed along with me. She's stronger than an alpha ogre. Much stronger. That coupled with the speed of a werewolf and ferocity of a drake makes a potent mixture. I passed through some checkpoint with these machines that made a noice when I pass through the, and down moving stairs.

This Karasuba creature shot out and landed in my way to the doors I saw just a little bit more from me. I held up Love and reached for Hate. By the smile on her lips something tells me this is as far as I go. So be it. I'd like to see just why this thing is capable of anyway.

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A/N: Thanks for reading and please Review


	2. Twin Angels

**Chapter 2: Twin Angels**

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I am tired.

So very tired.

That woman… she's too strong. I can't defeat her head on, whatever she is. Even I have limits in stamina, and I was a fool to challenge such a hurdle in my current condition. A condition that's much worse than ever before, and it visually shows as I hobble through this... place. A place full of so many wonders that I never imagined possible. Towers so tall that they touch the heavens. How the gods haven't destroyed these I'll never know. Funny, last I checked they wanted human hands to never corrupt their domains. I guess the gods have long been usurped by these corrupted humans.

My my, I'm surrounded by so many corrupt and lazy beings. The men and women here have lost their way. What they are or were before has changed. The humans around me seem to be so much more docile and set in stone than in my time.

My ears are ringing right now. The noise is so bothersome. My ears are close to the point of bleeding with the constant racket I'm suffering from right now. It's like every man, woman, and child in this city are talking all at once.

The cart things they call cars confuse me. They move with wheels and yet aren't pushed by anything. No horses, oxen, or ogres. The technology of this world mystifies me still. Everything here is as amazing and bright as it is loud and murky. All these wonders that only man could've built surround me. All of this created without the need of the goods is jaw dropping, and yet I'm the only one that finds them as such. No one seems to marvel the cars as they pass by. No one gives this large moving picture… the screen on one of the towers a second look. I witness moving pictures as if real people are within them and yet no one cares. This is the norm that they've become accustomed and only I see genius wrought by mankind. An artifact of a time long past.

 _Where there is light you will see a shadow hidden underneath._

Even with the changing of times I can see them. I can see the eyes of every inhuman monster through the crowd. I've seen golden cat eyes, red eyes with oval iris, and a few others I couldn't out right recognize. I know an orc's eyes when I see them. One of my greatest gifts is being able to pierce through the veil, see that which wants to remain unseen, and these eyes have never failed me. Even if they hid in the skin of a human they can never change what they are within. Sadly, I can't take action. If I try to start a hunt I'll be overtaken for sure. Many of these monsters travel in packs of three or more and that's the last thing I need to deal with now. For now, I'll leave my sword sheathed.

This is quite the predicament I've gotten myself on. I'm accustomed to being attacked and exciting conflict but in the abyss the Od there can restore my body fully within moments. With the beyond sealed away my magic is feebler than ever before. I should've accounted for his but centuries worth of conflict and habit isn't so simply forgotten.

I took more knowledge of this world from one woman I passed by not too long ago. One with a weak mind. My body is deteriorating at this very moment, so I had to choose someone weak minded couldn't resist my probe. She's an doctor from Kyoto and it was interesting to learn more of the marvels of this time.

 _Minds are like books, you just need to be able to open and read them._

The woman's mind was muddled with thoughts of school and these contraptions called cell phones. I saw memories of a boy she apparently is infatuated with that bared no importance for now. All information is important the issue is figuring out where it can fit. I saw much that could potentially assist me, but I can't retain everything that I wanted. I did find out one crucial detail though that left me unsure of my position.

Human beings no longer believe that beasts exist anymore.

Fools. I survived against almost every beast, demon, or monster I've hunted in their perilous hunt for me for a very long time. For centuries. It shows I suppose with the sudden shift in "modern" day technology and people. The worst prey I've had to hunt are gone from this world. It's safer if the hunted have to hide in such a way though. Maybe it's for the best normal humans live in this state of ignorance. The truth can be too much for the common man.

I'm astounded I've survived for this long. In the Abyss itself I survived without food, water, and sleep. My only source of nourishment happened to be souls and Od. Souls to halt the need of food and water since there's an abundance there. Then I'd use Od to restore my body repeatedly and keep the souls in check. I took use of the art of **Stilled Stasis** like the British Warlock Martin taught me. I meshed that with **Renewal** spells to keep myself going. While I'm not adept in magic like most I know souls and the power they contain. I know they can save you from mortal blows or even turn back the hands of time. They can save you as fast as they can consume you. With my Hunter modified body as well I survived with little choice though. I don't wish to die like any mortal man.

If the ancestors saw their descendants right now... I'm sure they're suffering unrest in the afterlife at this very moment. It would explain a couple things now that I think of it. The wraiths that grew from anger or sorrow probably followed their bloodline to this day. Or maybe their descendants didn't become the noble spartans they hoped they'd grow to be.

Well I'm thankful the art of the manipulating the mind, the body, and nature is lost to most of these people. Without it Od they can't combat demons. Without Ki they can't overcome monsters. Without chi they can't persist through the battle until the end. Even the lowest commoner had more chi than any of the people I have passed by. Bushido is a forgot art I wager as well. While humans have lost all of these abilities I envy them. Without Od, Ki, or Chi they're invisible to the powers they desire to devour them. They can reject and forget the existence of gods and demons the survive of belief. Even certain monsters lose power and their identity once humans lose their power and belief.

With the loss of powers spawned confusion but amidst the confusion came enlightenment. From witnessing such modes of transportation like this I'm sure humans developed superior tools to combat what obstacles they couldn't previously. Since they lost connection with the world they needed something to replace it. They developed the rifle before I was banished. It was annoying and made a lot of smoke, but now they perfected it to the point that the round it fires could penetrate a trolls hide with ease. That doctor seemed to like guns and I might like them as well. I wager in this time they've developed a weapon that you point at a monster, flip a switch, and then it's dies. I'll research this later.

I can't blend in that well though. I know I stand out for the people are the indicators. They see me and avoid me, which I cannot blame them for. I'm dressed as if I came from a different era despite the damage my attire has sustained throughout the years. That conflict with Karasuba sure didn't help me in anyway either. My body is covered with cuts, blood stains litter my blouse, and my trousers have rips along my thighs and ankles. That woman was out to cripple me but keep me alive; at the beginning. I have only my swords on my body, which I haven't bother with trying to hide. Luckily, what little armor I did have on protected my many vital areas from her thrusts. I look like a vagabond, so I can see why I'd be avoided.

Normally I'd have my British Hunter's coat to conceal most of this, but I had to sacrifice that, all my knives, five bombs, and my tengu mask to escape her. Curse that blood reeked, grey haired, sword wielding beautiful woman. I don't know what MBI is but it's now on my "to kill" list. If there was ever a doubt before there's none now. And that woman, I don't care how beautiful she is, I will get my coat back. Well, its not that coat that's an issue. It's what I had within its folds.

I soon found myself taking to the roof tops above the busy streets. I could never resist the urge to reach the new heights when I'm in pain. When injured or on the verge of a possible falling out I'd retreat to the highest peak I can reach. I don't prefer heights in any form normally, but when I'm vulnerable I retreat to them regardless. I stumbled into a building with ease. If anyone took notice of me as I walked through the shadows I was left alone. I walked up the stairs flight by flight until I reached the top of this tower. Once I did my legs gave and I stumbled to the ground.

"I can't," I coughed harshly. I felt the burning sensation of the demons within attempting to burn my soul away. "Ahh," the pain the accompanied this isn't the worst but significant. I settled my body with my back against a wall and closed my eyes. I, The Hunter, am hiding like I did all those years ago. Because I was foolish and made the mistake to get into conflict as if I was in the Abyss once more. I'm hiding away from that dog of a woman that literally chased me for maybe an hour to this tree of mine. For once in a very long time I'm the hunted like I was as a child. By the gods what I'm I going to do?

I grit my teeth and looked down to my left leg. It was straightened out and still before me. My right leg shivered from exhaustion but left is still. A dark aura is emanating from the cuts littering it. Karasuba noticed that I favored this leg by keeping my right forward the most. This leg wasn't fully healed yet and the wounds from my last battle against the demons and monsters of old are still affecting me. That last push left it's mark on me.

My armor for the most part is useless. My chest piece is layered with cuts same with my bracer. The blackened red segmented gauntlet I wore my right arm bestowed upon me by the Jäger is one of the only pieces I think will be useable for the future. The rest might be salvageable. If Feng saw his armor right night I'm sure he'd take his hammer to my head. I wonder now if Xi-Feng made it without me. I'm sure he grew up, had a wife, kids, and found his fortune like he wanted. That kid was always persistent. Always determined.

The Jäger. Some would call us evil. The annulment of bloodline or purging of a town label us as so, but some evils are necessary. I remember all the rumors and heresy about us from the common wealth. We're rumored to be demons older than humans themselves, monsters that destroy all they touch, bringers of the scrounge, and drinkers of virgin blood. Only the last is true for some of us, myself included. I can't help but find most of the lore to be bias. They're a group of humans so they can't be demons; though our ability to absorb and contain souls without becoming revenants spawns from them. Only Jäger can fight what normal humans could not. In conclusion they turned out to be too dangerous and had to end. I'm one of the last now. One regret I do have is the face that I made sure of it.

I looked over the many spoils of my time as a Jäger and finished with my wrist blade on my left arm and the soul reave gauntlet on my right. I prefer my swords most days than these tools though. I pulled Love and Hate from their scabbards as well as Isabela from my back along with her bolt quiver. I laid them down on the ground in front of me.

Slowly, I removed my remaining pieces of armor as well. A stream of steam poured out from underneath and heat radiate in waves that I could finally make out. I was cooking so hot in my armor that I most likely could've boiled an egg inside of it. This attempt of my body to heal itself might do more bad than good this time around. The relief of letting my chest and back breathe though was nice. Normally, I don't mind the heat. I was raised in mostly hot or extremely humid climates, but right now I can do without the oven that is my armor cooking me like a Christmas turkey.

Christmas, what an interesting holiday. They say it was for the children but little did they know it was all a farce. It stemmed from failed assassination attempts on nobles or bad witch break in attempts during the winter solstice. It was a good week, or day to keep your life. When you wish to blend in with red curtains and red velvet décor it's smarter to change your clothing pigment to the same. Even I took on the traditional red and white with a black sash just to sneak in and find my mark. I was once mistaken for ol' Saint Nicholas once. The patron saint of prostitutes was an interesting individual. He could get anywhere most others couldn't. Chimney jumping was his forte and he got down them silently like any other good assassin. He was one of the craziest Frenchman you could ever meet.

I undid my greaves and shin guards one by one then the knife holster underneath each. I only had no knives left. It's a shame, but I could always construct more later if I heal up. I unlatched the right shoulder pauldern made of leather to hold more knives. It was cut up and nearly useless. I might as well throw this away. I removed my left pauldern which is made of the same metal as my armor. A large scratch marked the metal and made it as useless as the rest. I placed all pieces I had together in a neat pile next to my weapons. I looked down to my last piece of armor which just so happened to be my wrist blade. I unstrapped it to reveal the magic matrix on my left arm. The tribal swirls and curved line pattern danced from the top of my wrist up my upper arm. I could see the faint bluish glow radiating off of my marks even now.

Magic in this day and age would fry so many brains. Most otaku would lose their minds… What the hell is an otaku? An image of a boy, good looking, frail frame with glasses, came to mind suddenly. I see a wallet with the word Pokèmon on it with small animals I've never seen before. I see a box contraption in this boy's hands and him pushing buttons on it. It made no sense to me and only added more questions to the pile.

I shook my head of these memories and thoughts before they got out of hand. I need to reframe from breaking into anymore minds for now. I'm too weak to resist the backlash.

The Black Blade stayed on my back with its black chain still crisscrossed over my chest. No point in trying to remove it from my body now. To do so might end up destroying this tower and everything within.

Now, if I can focus the last bit of souls I have collected into my equipment at least it wouldn't be a total loss. They wouldn't be able to possess my body once I pass out, which will be soon. Instead I can spend it all to restore my armor from its wear and tear and even fix my clothing. It's not like there is anyone here to see me do this. On the off chance someone did the typical man or woman would write if off as a trick caused by the sun more than anything.

I placed my overlapping hands - right over the left with my palms facing down - over my equipment at least a foot off the ground. As I closed my eyes the eye in the palm of my right hand opened. Od pulsed from the eye causing the markings on my right arm to follow. The Od generated a dome which encased me and my equipment inside. It slowly fed all my expendable souls of the beasts I've hunted into them. I opened my eyes a crack to witness any changes. Hate pulsed like a heartbeat glowing in a red ghastly haze in contrast to the blackness of the metal it was made from. Love resonated a blue serene aura that went well with the whiteness of its edge. My armor stayed the same proving it's uselessness to me further. The blade on my Hidden Blade glowed and gauntlet followed it's lead. As the glow faded away a shiner and shaper edge shown over the one before. Isabela took the souls to but remained unchanged. My clothing though restored to its former glory without the rips and tears.

My right arm's branding shrunk down to how they were when I acquired it and then faded completely from my arm. All except the eye on my palm, a moth wing on top of my hand with a black bat wing next to that, a princess crown above that, and the small vine design that traveled up my elbow. It's a shame to lose those souls after holding them for so long, but I can't become a revenant. If I fall asleep in this condition they're more inclined to take advantage of this opportunity and take my body. I'd rather channel it into something than into the air. Released souls have a chance of finding a new host and turning them into abominations, especially the old ones from the abyss.

I can't use them to heal myself. Souls can assist in healing physical wounds, empowering spells, and much more but not heal spiritual damage. Any damage my spirit sustained won't heal without proper rest and it shows. My hands are a bit pale and lost much of its color, my breaths are labored, and my vision is going back and forth. If I used them to try and repair my soul as well they'd overwhelm me for sure. I need rest, food, and… a doctor would be nice.

"Gods above help me," I said it.

My role is yet finished. I was transported here during that last push for a reason. The gods have yet to take me to the Great Wheel. I need to survive, but I can't move. I'm alone on top of the roof with nobody here to assist me. The whispers are gone as well. It's so quiet now. I felt myself chuckled a bit but it was more like rough coughing than anything. Things are looking bleak for me, but I am a hunter so surrendering is not in my nature. I'd like to think I've fought the dead for too long to join them just yet.

I looked out to the setting sun and frowned. The sun is a force of nature that never changes, or so I thought until I noticed its distortion. That means either the sun changed, or the sky did. In a world like this I shouldn't be surprised.

I sighed and opened my bottomless knapsack placing all the equipment in front of me into it. Hate, Love, Isabela, my armor, and the harnesses leaving me in only my boots and black trousers without any of my harnesses or holsters. My chest was covered with only my dark blue shirt and black vest over that. I still had my sister's yellow scarf, but now reddened from my blood, tied down around my navel, and finally my blouse. Dressing as a bit of a gentleman helps with moving from place to place inconspicuously.

I pulled my face mask up over my nose and rested back. Now that I'm alone with my thoughts I remember the first monster I killed. It was large with the strength of an ogre, speed of a wolf, and the intelligence of normal human men. It nearly killed me many times over, but that didn't stop me from trying which made it possible for me to grow. I willed myself forward until it laid dead at my feet. I was on the ground dying myself, but I was the victor. I witnessed a glowing light above me right before I almost died. That was my first soul.

I sighed then let my hands drop to my sides but with my left hand I took the knapsack strap in hand then placed it over my head. I'm tired, hungry, wounded, drained, and in an unfamiliar world but alive. Just another one of those days, I suppose. Not my worst day but this does make my top ten.

"Um," I heard and frozen in place and fell out with my spirit sense. It was the same energy as Karasuba's.

'She found me!' I dreaded but how did she find me? I made sure to cover any trail I may have made. I was sure I dodged her for long enough to get away, but it seems did a terrible job at it. Some escape artist I am. Couldn't even get away from a single woman. At least said woman is beautiful and overzealous like many other women I've met in my time. I would rather by slain by the hands of a woman than a man.

I took a breath and looked up expecting to see black leather and a grey hoari, but instead I saw the opposite of both. I saw white instead of black. I saw a veil instead of a hoari. I saw light instead of darkness. Only one word came to mind and left my mouth when this woman approached me.

"A-angel."

The woman looked taken back by the word I used. She had to be a goddess or an angel of some sort. A veil made of pure white fell over her eyes and shadowed the upper portion of her face. The same silky and shiny fabric also seemed to float around her mystically. The fabric wrapped around her amazing bust holding it up perfectly ran from her back up the front of her breasts leaving the sides and the valley between them bare but covered the bottom underneath them. The fabric met up together going up and crossed around her neck to her back and came together somewhere there, most likely with the bottom part under her breasts. Her upper arms down to her wrist are wrapped with the fabric but it looks like a sleeve more than anything just without anything holding it on the shoulders.

I could see the veil and fabric around her originating from her forearms even though it doesn't look like it should. Her legs are in stockings all the way down to her feet of the same white silk but stop at mid-thigh. A sort of short skirt covers her waist and womanhood (made with the same silk as the rest) with a single banner falling from the right side, down to the middle of her legs with some sort of symbol at the end. Her skin is also beautiful glowing in the rays of the orange and red sunset tanned slightly, but not too much to make lines. From my angle I could tell that she has long brown hair that falls past her shoulders most likely to the small of her back. She's suspended in the air floating there and looked down on me like some form of higher power from above.

I must be dead or dying to be seeing something like this. Is this as my guide to the afterlife? What god did I impress for such a woman be chosen to guide me to my end? I will count myself blessed that such a being is my last sight in this life. I noticed the redness on her cheeks grow as she sort of covered… whatever she could cover.

"Goddess or angel huh. That's a first." The woman smiled warmly at me. "You're really sweet to say those things."

So, I'm on her good side? That's good.

"B-but I'm not a Goddess." The woman oddly took her chest in hand where her heart is. She looked extremely conflicted about something, but I couldn't guess what it could be. Is she judging whether or not I should go to heaven, hell, purgatory, the wheel of reincarnation, or wherever men like me go when we die? I've seen hell in the abyss and as a soul I'd get torn apart by the very monsters I help send there. I've done much that'd label me malevolent enough to be sentenced to Hell. Hopefully I don't.

Well, whatever happens, I suppose. I can have a nice memory to take with me though at least.

"Then you're an angel then. You have to be. You're too... radiant not to be." I felt my eye sight wane again. I was losing sight of the being in front of me. I lifted my hands to my hood and yanked it off for a better view. The woman look up slightly to meet my eyes with her own. We have the same eye color. I wasn't sure if it was the sun's rays or my own lightheadedness, but I think I made an angel blush. "I made an angel blush," I chuckled and leaned back, "one last accomplishment before I die."

"My name is Uzume." The woman smiled again until the last part I said hit her mind. "W-what!" The angel fell down to earth finally and noticed the pool of blood I was laying in. She looked horrified and scared for a minute. "You're hurt?" I felt my eyes getting heavy. I felt her hands on my shoulders shaking me.

"Hey stay awake you… die… p…"

I couldn't hear much after that. Whatever this angel wanted to do with me it doesn't matter anymore. Only regret I have is losing my coat to Karasuba. I felt myself rising up. It was the only thing I felt last before the void took me into her cold embrace.

* * *

I am tired.

So very tired.

If I feel tired then I must be alive then. Thank the gods for that.

I opened my eyes to the sound of those car things. An irritating sound like metal claws scratching against a metal dry surface. My ears are going to go if I have to live with this noise for the rest of my days. The rest though was nice. So many years without sleep I wouldn't be surprised if I was in a coma for a month or so. I feel so well rested now and by the feel of the atmosphere it was morning. It's not early in the morning because the sun was already in shining from behind me.

I leaned up from my laid down position from the roof and noticed that I, in fact was not on the roof. Instead I'm on a bed of all things. White sheets, slick and soft to the touch, covered the bed with me beneath one. I rose my arm to block the light from my eyes and looked around a bit. The light was coming from a window to my left on the same wall the head of the bed was against. The smell of an apothecary was around me but at the same time it scent of sickness and health.

Am I at a hospice?

I pulled the white sheet off as I looked around the room. It had strange machines inside and other sort of instruments. I was disarmed as well, but before I panicked like a child without his toy, I took a breath. I calmed down to think this through. From what I gathered I'm at a hospital. It's where you go to get healed if your either ill or injured. I could only assume after all this is the first time I've been to a hospital in my entire life, and I've a feeling this won't be the last. I wonder know just how did I get here?

Who brought me here?

I stilled my body and walked into my mind's memory archives. I cycled to the last moment I can recall before I went to the void. I watched with near perfect clarity as Karasuba pushed me to the limit, and I was forced to retreat. I wandered to a roof to more than likely die and then... The angel Uzume, the woman in white, came for me. She has to be a god. It's no coincidence that a woman baring the name of a Shinto goddess suddenly appears before me during my dying moments. Maybe Kaguya is still looking down upon me to this day. I should feel honored that a goddess took the time to take my exhausted body into one of these rooms to get me help.

I wonder how long I was out. If I'm separated from The Black Blade for too long I can only imagine the worst happening to anyone around when IT happens. That means that I need to get to The Black Blade and my equipment and leave this place as soon as possible. If I can't find my knapsack, which can only be opened by me, then I have to interrogate someone. I need to find my clothes as well. The white shirt and pair of pants won't do same with bandages wrapped around my hands and arms. I can feel the pressure of something wrapped around my torso, which I assume are bandages as well. This needle in my arm as well. I pulled it out and tossed the needle away to the direction of the bag of liquid on a stand. The small hole left behind oozed a bit of blood but after a moment I watched as the wound closed in a split second. My skin as well isn't pale like before. It's darker shade had returned. I'm healthy again.

It seems I received medical treatment while I've been unconscious. My body didn't hurt as much as before. The pain from the final push is faint at most. A good night's rest is one of the easiest ways for me to recover fast enough. I haven't had many opportunities as of late, being in another realm and all. Not once was I able to rest without taking the risk of someone or something taking possession of my body. I'm too young to become a revenant or a monster. Since I'm feed of that fate I'm feel much better and my headaches are gone. That weight of my situation has been lifted, and on top of that I've gotten around 16 to 18 hours of rest. My stomach didn't feel like a bottomless pit, so I was fed somehow during my rest. I should find out who and thank them.

And I have just the way to do it.

I closed my eyes and felt my marks respond. A familiar sting developed behind my eyes and spread to the front of them. I opened my eyes. Ghosts of different forms moved and ran past me. The past occupants of this room and anyone that entered moved past me. I saw people I couldn't recognize and stopped the visions when I saw a girl in a wheel chair. The girl in the wheelchair has been a constant during my replay so I let my focus remain on her. I played the vision but stopped when the girl returned. A ghostly white form of the angel ran to the room right behind her. I took notice of body she was carrying. I deduced the body was mine, wrapped in her silky fabrics. I can't hear the white ghosts as they moved past me, but I could see that my knapsack, The Black Blade, and my clothing was all removed before I was put into this room. I wish my sight was advanced enough to see more than the past presences of this room and to hear voices. I'm not at that level sadly.

I leaned up and removed the shirt I had on same with the bandages underneath. The Angel and the girl in the wheel chair were the ones that did this and cleaned my wounds. They also put this needle in my arm. The angel rubbed my cheek and left me in the wheel chair girl's care. She fed me or more like I fed myself the moment the food was in range surprising her greatly. The young woman stayed with me for an unknown time before leaving for the night and returning again this morning. I folded the shirt I removed neatly and placed it on top the table by the trey of what used for food. I reached for the bandages of my right arm then suddenly the door to the room slid open.

A girl in a... wheelchair, the one from before, was at door with an almost tired look in her eyes. She was pale, almost ghostly pale, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and one of those hospital gowns on her body. She was the typical Japanese girl, short with a small stature but still has a very appealing light to her soul. She's very cute as well. I wonder what her blood tasted like. Her aura, it's so minuscule it was almost as if she was just barely alive or living.

The girl's eyes landed on me and instantly her cheeks turned red. "I... Ah I'm so sorry!" The girl slammed the door shut in an instant though her aura livened up a little. That nice good to see.

I sniggered as little and went back to undoing my bandages. I studied the unblemished skin underneath to no cuts, tears, or bruises in sight as I unraveled them all. Some of my phantom scars have healed over as well. I hummed while I did it as well out of habit.

I looked back to the door and sighed, "How long are you going to hold your head on the door?" I heard a bang at the door and then it cracked open.

"I... was going to..."

"Come in," I beckoned the girl. "You don't need to stand at the door all day and watch from a crack. I would like to get a good look at the girl that took care of me." I could feel the girl's embarrassment from here as she opened the door fully yet refused to look directly at me. "It is rude not to look at people directly when they talk to you as well," I stated dully. "Do you what to hurt my feelings?" I teased a bit.

The girl flinched making my feel sort of guilty but not enough to affect me overall. "Sorry it's just..." She tried to explain and at the same time make some form of eye contact with me. I rose an eyebrow while I waited from her to continue, but it seems she can't find the words that well. I take pleasure out of teasing innocent girls too much. They're just so cute. I worked on unraveling the bandages around my chest but noticed the door was still open.

"Can you close the door as well miss, if you don't mind?"

"Ah," the girl squeaked as her face turned a shade darker, "y-yes I can sir."

"Sir," I whispered and shook my head. I've never been called that before.

The young girl quickly closed the door and sighed in relief as if she was holding her breath the entire time. The girl rolled inside closer to my bed and watched me in silence, which I didn't mind for the moment. I preferred the quiet just so I can focus on working on the chest wrappings.

"You shouldn't d-do that," The girl rolled up to my bed and took my arm in her soft and weak hands. That was a bit of a mistake on her part especially with it being the left arm. I felt my spine shiver as thoughts, feelings, a few minor memories filled my mind. _'Please you can't,'_ the girl spoke but her lips didn't move. _'You were bleeding and hurt. If you…'_ I ended those thoughts right then and there with a breath. I looked down to the hands on my arm. In one little turn I bet I could dislocate her wrist and elbow just with a single finger. She felt that weak. "You were really hurt when I found you on the roof and if you remove the bandages your wounds might..."

I looked into her eyes and she quieted down to a squeak then nothing as I continued to take these my bandages off. "Do not worry, I am fine." The rest of the bandages fell and showed my chest with nothing in the range of wounds or injuries. The girl's eyes widened in disbelief. I pulled her hands from my arm and replaced them to my chest instead for her to see. The simplest way to differentiate illusion from real is physical touch.

I watched as she examined my chest with her hands. She went along the areas I was stabbed and slashed yet there was nothing there as if nothing happened in the first place. "But you were covered in cuts and one that was really bad." The girl smiled in relief as her hands fell from my chest. "I'm so happy to see that you're okay though. I was really worried for you."

"Thank you for worrying about me." The girl nodded and leaned back into her chair and sat quietly next to me as I finished. I could feel her eyes sort exploring my body the more I uncovered. I didn't mind for it was a typical reaction when I had to deal with maidens, married women, and noncombatants. Something tells me this girl is under two of those of three things. Not that it's a bad thing so to speak, but this girl's likelihood of reaching the goal of getting married isn't high. She's more likely to die within the year if she doesn't get help some help.

I can see the sickness inside of her right now. Blackened tendril are pouring out of her pores even now. These tendrils encase her soul and take it little by little. Without the soul the body will fail and soon she's die from the sickness in which she's inflicted. I recognized the symptoms but what ails her is different. Despite this I could assist her if I desired to heal her, but it would take a while with how far the sickness has spread in her body. I do owe her for taking care of me and feeding me after all. I could use this as a means of training my healing magic as well. I never get that many chances to do it outside of myself.

I clenched my left hand into a fist. "You said you found me, correct?"

"Uh." The girl intelligently said as the blood rushed back to her head. Her mind left the little happy place she currently was in. That smile that was on her lips was a little suspicious if you ask me. With the blush that came back with more force on her cheeks I have the suspicion she was thinking about something… untoward.

"I asked if you were the one to find me on the roof," I inquired once more but clearly enough for her to conceive.

"Y-yes I was." She lied. She's a terrible liar and it shows with averting of her eyes when I looked into them. She's began to shuffle in her seat and squeeze her hands together anxiously as well. All the indicators are there but why lie to me? What's the point?

"Are you sure?" I questioned as I took the girls shoulders in hand. I stared directly into her eyes rooting her to place so she couldn't look away from me. The girl's trembling in my gentle hold of her shoulders grew.

"I…We… I mean I!"

"We? So there's another or more then?"

"I… well…"

"Was a certain Angel named Uzume involve in this?"

"N-no we…no I-I f-found y-y-you," the girl stammered.

"You're a terrible liar." I chuckled lightly at the shocked surprised look in her eyes. "Where did that angel go anyway?" I know Uzume isn't a goddess. The gods and I don't necessarily have an agreement with each other. If they stay out of my way I do that same with my occult blade sheathed.

"An-gel?" The girl questioned.

I nodded. "I was about to fade away but then she appeared in this white outfit of hers floating above me."

"Floating?"

"At first I thought she was a goddess from above that came to take me way. One from the Shinto religion actually, maybe an angel from the catholic faith, but I wasn't very sure. What do you think?" I let the girl's shoulders go as I leaned back onto my bed. Instead of an answer I was given a mess of words gibberish. I thought she was confused at first then I noticed she was trying not to let her eyes drop to my torso.

"An angel or a goddess?" I asked curious of her answer.

"An angel." She sincerely answered with a light smile.

I nodded again. "Angel it is." I undid the bandages on my leg now. The cuts remain for the most part but that's to be expected. That demon did grab my leg and practically burn carnage into my very soul. It's breached, but I'll heal in time.

"But how do you know?" The girl asked.

I thought on a good answer for that. I can't say it was magic. I can't say that I have the natural ability to read minds and perceive the past of an object or area I'm in. The order, if it still exists, might hunt me down if the knowledge of a mage not part of their little covenant. It might cause a little more trouble than I want right now. Sadly, I'm not in a "half-truths" mood right now.

I closed my eyes until I felt the Od spear its way through them. I looked back to the girl making her eyes widen when she saw them. "My eyes allow me to see the past of an object or a room I'm in. I have to be completely still though and that leaves me vulnerable, so I faintly use it." I opened my hand and my vision shifted back to normal. "I saw you and Uzume and what you did."

The girl blinked, "Are you a sekirei?"

"A what?" The girl shook her head and covered her mouth. I was tempted to question her on just what a "Sekirei" is, but I have a good idea. Sekirei sound like a race more than a bird if my translation of this word is correct. I believe it's a wagtail of some; meaning a bird. I saw Karasuba as an fallen angel who fell from the grace of god without her wings and Uzume is Angel in my mind. A bird might be the right name for a race of beings like them.

If these Sekirei have powers normal humans don't then maybe they're a threat. I might need to annul this race if they breed beasts like Karasuba. They appear to function in human ways. They walk, talk, have emotions, and can bleed. That means they have mortality, will, and the power of choice. They aren't the typical race of humanoid I would abolish without good reason. I was harmed by one and saved by one. I've seen the darkness of this race and the light as well. I know now I'm going to have to investigate this race thoroughly and render proper judgement.

I pushed that thought to later back to the more immediate problem. "Anyway, I saw that while I was carried in here I didn't have any of my affects. Can you tell me where they are?"

The girl blinked for a moment, "W-we hid them away. Your sword on your back that isn't here, but I have your clothes right here." I looked down and now just noticed the small box on her lap with my clothing inside I suppose.

How did I not catch that? I mean it's right there!

"We washed them for you," she said in a meek tone to which I returned with an easy smile

"Thank you so much." The girl smiled back and presented the box to me. I took it and pulled the covers off of my body and kicked my feet over. "My may call me Otieno, Otieno D. Jäger. What's your name?"

"C-Chiho." She stuttered.

I nodded and stood to my feet. This Chiho turned around and rolled to the door. "I'll let you change so I…"

"No need."

The girl stopped as I place my hand on her chair. Chiho noticed the hospital clothing on the bed and looked directly forward. That blush of hers came back with a vengeance. "I-I should go."

"No need, like I said."

"But y-you have to c-change," she stammered.

"Already done."

The girl turned around and show me fully dressed in my clothes. Blouse buttoned up but the collar doubling as a mask is folded down. My sister's scarf was wrapped around my stomach with the remainder falling over my right leg. I have yet to put my hood up, but overall I was fully dressed.

"But how did you…"

"I dress fast," I said with a smirk, but it faded to my bored expression I usually show when I am dressed fully. Stoic is the way I usually go with things.

"My knapsack," I reminded the girl. "Where is it?"

"Under the bed." She pointed downward.

I blinked and dropped to the floor. Sure as the moon wanes I saw my dark leather knapsack under the bed. I took it in hand and hoisted the heavy bag over my head up on my shoulder.

"The Black Blade as well?"

"You mean you're really long sword that was this long?" She spread her arms wide, but it wasn't enough to illustrate just how long it is. "It's on the roof in a safe place."

I nodded and walked over to the girl and knelt down with my back to her. "Since you protected my life I will protect yours as payment Chiho."

"W-what... but I didn't... I... thank you but I don't want you to..." I put a finger on her lips and shook my head.

"I'll always pay back my debts. Yes, you did protect me, so I'll do the same." The girl blushed again and averted her eyes from me. "So where is that blade again?"

* * *

This safe place turned out to be on the roof. It was in a spot above the door on the ledge. A place that turned out to be in an obvious place easy to see yet hard to notice. The Black Blade was in pop wrap paper stuff she called bubble wrap. It's so easy to see that I'm surprise that the men and women that come up here daily have never noticed it whist I've been asleep. It's a good thing they left it in the sun and elements and not the dark. They did right thing without even meaning to.

Chiho told me that she'd check on it frequently and admittedly touched it as well like a child does a present or something like that. Sort of reminds me of Kuu whenever she tried to steal this from me. I have yet to thank Kuu, that insanely beautiful kunoichi that threw me a bag of blessed bolts that save my life. That was the second time I believe I owed her my life and so a favor. I hated her favors because each one of them always almost got me killed, but I was honor bond to complete the task.

The last one I enjoyed though, because she decided all she wanted from me was to be her distraction during a joining of hands at some palace. I didn't care for the name of it but know that she was after some jeweled mask there. I loved that woman despite her obsession with money that almost cost me my life, but the compensation I received more than made up for it.

I pressed the sheath of the blade to my back and almost automatically black chains shot from it and wrapped around my chest. I felt the presence of the blade touch the darkness of my soul in an instant.

"O-Otieno-kun?" Chiho called me and the moment I faced her she blushed again from her spot on the roof. She looked sort of vulnerable just sitting there on the roof without proper use of her legs and looking all cute as well in her peaceful like pose.

"Yes?"

"Those things on your arm." Chiho lifted her hand and pointed to me but more specifically my arms. "Is it alive?"

Of all the questions she could have asked me about my magic matrix like 'What is that?', 'Where did you get that?', or maybe 'Why do you have it?' she asked me if the markings itself are alive. I guess with how it moves slightly every now and again it is a sensible question to ask. "Yes, it is indeed alive."

My answer both fascinated and disturbed the girl to no end by the looks of it. She stared at my markings as they constantly danced and the faint light that fell upon the roof top. "Okay."

She's doesn't understand this or anything about me. She called me a Sekirei, which I find humorous in a way. Maybe these Sekirei have abilities above human recollection. I clenched my hand and decided to give her something. "Do you believe in magic?"

Almost in an instant she nodded her head up and down. "Yes! I love stories of magical kingdoms like elves and human magicians. I always imagined myself at one. Using magic to fly," she rose her arms up and looked to the sky. "I'd cast a low leveled fireball and get sought out by a mage to make me their apprentice. That would be..." the girl reveled in her own fantasy land about Elves and magic. Shame that elves have long been expatriate to another world thanks to an ancestor of mine. Magic as well is a bit rare nowadays. I could allow her glimpse of them though and if she's worth could cross the veil to their world. It's possible.

"Are you able to use magic!?" She asked so lively that I can feel the years ticking off the clock with every burst of energy lost.

I walked up to her. I removed my glove from my hand then placed my left hand on top her head. "This might answer your question. Close your eyes." Chiho blinked and then obediently shut her eyes to me with her chin up. Such a good girl, following the directions of a stranger like that. It's a shame that she's dying of something so mundane that her body killing itself. I can fix this in a month or maybe two with the knowledge I hold. While I'm not that adept in the healing arts like Bethany was or a bishop; I've healed my own wounds for years and know my way around restoring what was lost. With how weak her body is as well, I'll have to do this in sessions. Once every week maybe. As she becomes healthier I can move up the time schedule to once a day perhaps

I took a breath and built up Ki in the pit of my stomach. I let the breath go and pushed it through my hand into her body. My Ki is very versatile. I can use it to cause pain or use it to restore another's low reserves. I have more than enough to help her. I need to wake up her body and open her pathways before I can start healing her. I watched as the Ki circulated from the Key points in her head down through the coils of body until it glow vibrantly.

"Wow," she gasped. "I feel...alive... and warm."

"I'm not done yet. Stay still," I said quickly when I felt her shuffle a bit.

"O-Oh, sorry," Chiho quickly apologized and went still once more.

With her body awake now I channeled what Od I could manifest through the markings of my arm into the palm of my hand. I pushed my light based Od into her body and watched the darkness within her fold.

"Ahh," I heard her hum and saw a small smile on her lips.

This might take a couple mouths indeed to fix at my level, but I can do it. The light took the darkness and blow it away little by little. I stopped before it could become too much and let my hand fall from her head. Chiho then opened her eyes to me and looked up to my mystically.

"What did you do?"

I smiled down at the girl and waved my still shimmering hand in front of her. "I'm can use magic." I rose my other hand and felt the darker powers in my body respond. My black wing branding glowed starting at my palm as I called upon the more aggressive side of Od. Carnage to be accurate. I opened the palm of my hand and watched as fire came alive in the palm of my hand.

Chiho's eyes widened to the point they looked ready to fall out of her skull. "You're a magician!"

I wanted to shake my head, but I felt, at the moment, its better to let her live her fantasy now. Her mental fortitude will also factor into how well she'll take to the modifications. So, I nodded and kneeled down in front of the girl. I scooped her up into my arms thinking of my Brand. Only three remain it seems. I'm almost alone. Thankfully I have Isabela and the rest of equipment, my life, here with me. They protect me, and I make sure to do the same.

Chiho didn't offer any resistance to when I picked her up and hugged herself close to me with diamond like glimmers in her eyes. "Thank you," she said in a meek tone as I made my way down into the hospital to return the girl to her room. "Thank you for carrying me but you didn't have too."

"I know, but I wished to. Besides it's faster than waiting for you to roll on that wheelchair thing we left behind," I summed up. With how sick she is I have to be in direct contact with the girl in order for the restoration process to begin so this is for the best. I decided to help the girl and protect her life like it was my own. It was the least I could do, and it would be nice to be in the good favor of someone in this place. This girl seems to be competent as well as soft of heart. I wonder what her blood tastes like still.

She told me she never got visitors because her parents are dead. She wasn't sure about her immediate family. They're missing in her life. I could see that the act of talking to me and the small contact we had was making her existence more... well more. If something so small makes her feel this happy then her life as of now is not the best it could be. If I can help her with that then I will.

We entered her room thanks to her flawless directions, and I sat her down on the bed. I didn't want to lay her down for to do that would show that not only do I think she is sick but too sick to stay upright for any reason. I can't really do that and even if she didn't understand I did. That's all that matters.

"Thank you."

"I should thank you Chiho even if I have already a hundred times," though I was tired of hearing thank you again and again for the simplest of things.

"Otieno?"

"Yes."

"You're about to leave right?" She asked in a faint whisper as if she didn't say it too loud it wouldn't happen. Did she not wish me to leave? Does she form some sort of attachment to me?

"Yes I am." I saw Chiho look down, then I poked her in the center of her forehead and forced her to look up to me. "I'll be back. Stay cute until I come back Chiho."

The girl flushed again but smiled, "Really," she said in disbelief.

"Really." I stood to my head and fixed my sword on my back that lifted up out of place when I sat down on the chair she had in the room. "If you stay cute I might tell you a story or two about my misspent youth you might like."

"Like how you got that?" She asked being sort of blunt by pointing to my tattoo. That's what she called them, and I'm not about to correct her. "Or how you learned magic? Can you fly? Did you learn from elves? Do elves exists? Can you teach me?"

"It's a long story on how this happened. I learned through experience. I can't fly, no. I learned a bit from them, yes. Yes, they do exist. And... maybe." Before she could bombard me with a thousand questions I know she's edging to throw at me, I rose my hand up to her to keep her silent so I can finish. "I have to get going for now, so we have to put this on hold. Be patient and every time I visit you I'll tell you a couple stories and show you more, deal?"

I rose up my hand and she swiftly grasp it in both of hers. "Deal. I'd love to hear more Otieno-kun." She replied with a soft smile. I smiled back and turned away to leave. "Ano." I stopped and turned around to the girl.

"Uzume," she said in a whisper. "Can, can you please... take care of her?"

I rose and eyebrow at this. How can I take care of this Uzume and in what way? Regardless of these unanswered questions passing through my mind I gave Chiho a reassuring nod. "Of course."

Chiho smiled again with her aura shining brightly in an already bright room. If I wasn't so picky about my women I might have fallen for this girl with how cute she was. No, I'll most likely fall for her anyway.

I said my goodbyes and left the room with a promise to visit her with stories to tell. Maybe even get a taste of her blood as well if I'm lucky. I've haven't had the blood of a pure hearted virgin in a very long time. I could use the boost for a later time, but I should reframe. I should reframe... But will I? Now that's a different story.

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A/N: I look forward to the reviews as well.


	3. Player One

**Chapter 3: Player One**

* * *

The city is of grand scale and from my high point on one of its tall towers I felt that everything was so much smaller than it really was. I was a small speck on the large tower I found myself on. I followed the scent of blood and the aura nestled within my coat to this clock tower. I wished to find that angel first before I did anything exceptionally risky, but I really need my coat. It hides everything and was a gift. I don't have that many items with sentimental value and overall practicality left, and that one has history. It's older than me and part of my Legacy. I can't lose it.

She's in this tower and has my coat hidden away.

I thought back now on the aura I've felt around the city and what Chiho called the ones with strong aura.

Sekirei, that's what she called them and the name seems to fit.

This Uzume and Karasuba are Sekirei. I feel contented to have a name for this race of beings that defy human limitations and abilities. This leads me to other Sekirei I can sense populating this city. More than four or five that have a noticeable aura to them. One was a mix of light brown and yellow with the sensation of stability to it. It's a male I know this for sure, and it's as if this male is a mountain on the inside reaching close to the heavens.

I drew my senses to the right and noticed another strong aura. One that was purple with streaks of white. This one is more mellow and lacking any form of definite shape. She's drowning in something, and I can see that same mark on her as I've sensed on Karasuba. The male I sense is like them as well. Uzume also feels similar to them all. I recognize her white streaks anywhere. Gentle and full of compassion.

In the north I see three forms of life that stand out unlike the others. One is unstable and red-orange with a twinge of blue added in the mix. The other has more of a more definite shape than that of the others. From what I can see she has a red scar on her being as well. Then I feel the strongest of them all in the northern direction, and this one made my spine shiver. I only get this feeling when a powerful opponent is near me and this one is stronger that any humanoid life I've sensed.

Maybe more powerful than even myself when using my augmented state.

The other one was whiter that the rest, even more than the purple woman, for this one felt more lost that the rest of them. It was a small difference, and from what I could sense this girl is feeling like it's all a waste. That she's only going through the motion.

I felt an urge to hunt each of these beings and bask on their souls if I can absorb their souls. These beings are unlike beasts and demons, and from what I can sense these things aren't like the silver women with a blood strip around her dominate arm's wrist being Karasuba. Each has taken life in one way or another except the red-orange man in the distance. The closest is the purple women that was trapped on her own accord. The lost one in white is the next that's near by. The next closest was father south and this one was the second male with the sturdy feel around him. I can sense a few other powers, but they feel more like faint candles at the moment. A candle that will soon turn into a bonfire.

I can investigate this later. For now, I have to find Karasuba and get my inheritance back. She's the real reason I came to this tower. She's below me with the many other candles below her. This tower is full of sekirei, but many of them are weak and would make easy prey. I don't like easy prey.

Back to the tower; the door behind me happened to be locked and my pick kit is in my coat same with my Key. Since the sky isn't raining blood and bones of Elder Gods have yet to pollute heaven the key has yet to be used. I pray she hasn't taken an interest in it.

Oddly enough I've found rope on the rooftop. Of all things I expected to find on a clock tower rope wasn't one of them. That rope leads to a small metal hook and was pretty long. It's some damn good quality rope as well. If I wanted to I could probably tie down twenty men and still have enough left over to rappel down a ten story building. The hook it was connected is made of a metal that is sturdy and strong. It wasn't steel or iron but something much stronger and lighter. I kicked the metal and it felt hollow. I wasn't so sure about this hook thing. If I take a dive and the rope broke or the metal bent out of shape I'd be taking that swan dive down to the ground. I never liked falling from heights. I think I can survive the fall with a couple crushed bones at most but best not to test it. I made sure the rope was tight and secure before I decided to this.

My plan is simple. I jump off the roof and swing out downward towards the windows a story below. I would draw upon my Od and push a concentrated bolt of energy at the window to weaken it. Then I would kick my way inside shattering the glass as I go through. With the residual Od I'd reverse the flow of time to repair the window with ease. I'm not sure if this'll work as well as I'd like, but you never know until you try.

I made sure to choose the proper side to descend upon with little to no life in the room and it turned out to be on the east side of the building. Most of the life forms are concentrated on the center and lower floors of the tower. I have to keep it high and break into a floor five maybe six below at the most.

I took a breath and walked up to the edge. I gripped the rope tightly in my hands and took another breath. I leaned over and looked down. "Gods above and below I dislike heights," I mumbled to myself as the weight of my coming action crashed upon me. If I screw this up I'm going to fall. My probability of survival without Od is about 10%. With this in mind I'm beginning to question why I climbed up here via the groves and indents on the wall. Maybe I could've walked in through the front door and asked politely.

I chuckled a bit at this sudden ignorant thought that crossed my mind.

I took a breath to steel my choice. With a strong step I jumped out with one hand on the rope and the other in the air being used as a wing to steady my descent. It give me the momentum to twist in midair to face the glass. I found a suitable window to breach and rose my had up. My brand glowed and I pointed my palm toward the window. I touched the glass and let the Od stored in my arm release. The window cracked from the blast forcing me back away. I rose my feet and swung in forcing my way through the glass with little resistance. I let the rope go and landed inside with succession in my infiltration.

I waved my hand and took hold of the residual Od within the window and used it to reconstruct it piece by piece until I looked like nothing happened. I didn't hear any alarms or bell to signal a break-in but just to be safe I pulled up my hood and rose my mask up to hide the lower part of my jaw. I could sense the woman was a couple floors down from where I was and moving. I looked both directions and took the right side as my way.

The hall ways were long and bland for the most part. It was all grey and lifeless despite the life inside it. Because of this the only way I could navigate this place were by the many signs above that I had a difficult time reading. I made sure to avoid any and all human life if I could. On one floor I had to crawl on the ceiling the entire time until I found the stairs down. I swear either a mad man or a genius made the layout for this building. Every single passage way lead in me in complete circles. This can't be coincidence. I never liked puzzles, but that doesn't mean I'm not good at them. A maze is no different.

I soon found I made my way down to the floor she's on. I drew closer to the door with my hands at the ready. I'm not strong enough to wield my blades yet so I'll have to rely on hand to simple door is what separated her from me. Behind this door was my target and my gold held by the target. Inside I will get my answer.

I pushed the door open and smell of blood filled my nostrils. Bizarrely, with it the smell blood came the scent of barely contained lust and stress. Pheromones that must belong to her took hold of my throat and like a beast my body responded. I felt my hands begin to shake and my shoulders quiver. Thoughts of certain woman came to mind coupled with her clever choice of worlds. If Kuu were here she would place this woman in the category of "Needs a good tumble" if the potency of this scent means anything.

I looked around the room I found myself in. That size decent with one of those tele'whatsits on a small stand. It was quite large. I noticed a few chairs and couches below me and some strange room to my left. Bottles and glasses layer the shelves.

I rose my nose up to the ceiling and took a good lungful of air. I eyes drew to a door to my right where she resides and drawing closer. I stepped back into a corner near the door into the shadows. I felt them hug my form and encase me within their cold embrace. I watched as the woman walked out from the door. Kuu would be right in this regard. I can see from her posture that she is indeed in need of a tumble or two to relax. The women exited the door and turned to the right where the stairs lead down.

"Ah, I wonder what Mu-chan is doing." The woman sighed with her eyes clenched closed or to it appeared to be closed. Not many can walk normally with their eyes closed, myself included. That's just not normal. The women left with a sword in hand and her coat around her shoulders like some form of cape. A sword I remember cutting through with Hate as well.

Karasuba.

The woman left down to the end of the hall and turned into the hallway. I stayed where I was until she left down the stairs before I walked out of my corner to follow her. I was forced to keep most of my soul suppressed so not to make her aware of me. It seemed it worked since I'm not dodging sword slashes and strokes as of yet.

I reached the door she went into and reached for the knob but stopped.

What am I doing? I should be getting my coat. I should be retrieving my coat instead of bothering with this woman. I can kill her later... but she's weak. My prey is weak right now. I can feel her aura erratically fluctuating about. Like before, her power isn't flowing correctly which means she won't be at full strength. I can finish this here and now. I might not get another chance.

I turned the knob and found it wasn't locked. I guess she feels that locking it is a waste, because who in their right mind would ever think of challenging her and invoking her wrath? I did get into a scuffle with her and rather leave it at that. I don't wish to do battle right now. I'm still not at my best, so like most I think I'll avoid confrontation. For now.

I walked away towards the room with my coat. The room I past by was like the size of a house with a window the size of the room showing the outside to the rest of the city. It all looked rather extravagant for someone like her. Then again I'm probably giving her the credit she deserves as a woman. Even if she's on the wilder side that doesn't mean I should expect bloody walls or skulls hanging from the ceiling. It's a relief to see that she lives like a normal person and even cleans after herself. I didn't pick up the scent of anyone else so she's the one that lives here. She's the only one here to inflict her OCD on this room. Whatever OCD is I'm sure it relevant to state this room is in.

Magazines stacked perfectly at the top left corner of the table. With closer inspection the titles on the spine are in alphabetical order even. Some are in English, but most are in Japanese. The furniture is placed in a near perfect positions from one corner to the next all-round the table. I was curious enough to place a finger on the table and found it smooth without an inkling of dust. She must be keen on keeping her area clean. Maybe that's why when she cut me she dodged all the blood. She hates to be dirty.

I mused on this for a moment and shook my head from the amusement I felt.

Moving on I left the room behind towards the hallway to my right. The kitchen was to my right with a... fridge, stove, and over things a kitchen now a days called for. She doesn't cook that much I can tell with the lack of odor from baking, frying, or grilling. The stove is clean enough to show my reflection. I found myself becoming further curious about this woman the more I walked her living space. I targeted the fridge and gripped the handle. I pulled it open to another surprise. Her fridge was full of a variety of soda and fruit drinks. Not much in the way of food other than a white container in the back that's used to hold food. I could smell it underneath.

Everything was arranged in order and stacked evenly. I smiled at this and closed the door. How can a woman like that be this orderly? She's a beast. A monster. Or rather I thought she was a monster. She has the blood-starved scent, the mindset, and her actions say it all. She's a savage in battle, but now I think of it during that fiasco she wasn't… normal? Our conflict is was more like testing the waters than getting in the slaughter right then and there. It was almost… fun?

I moved on back to the hallway. I looked towards a door and went towards it further into the hall. I can feel my coat beind it, but the Key is my prime target. I opened the door to a bedroom that wasn't as noble cast as I thought it would be. It was plain with a big bed, dressers, and a closet. Spartan if you will. I have to assume the coat is in the most obvious place, that being the closet, and so walked over to it. I opened it with ease and inside I saw an assortment of different clothes. Mostly of the outfit she wore currently, but I saw different coats as well. I noticed single leather jackets and shirts of dark base colors. Everything is divided into sections. A section for her uniforms, hoari, shirts, skirts, and pants. Leather trousers, blue Jeans, and dress clothing in the form of a suit alone. Karasuba must prefer masculine clothing. I can imagine her in a male's button up collared shirt buttoned up to the bottom of her bust with a nice… I shook my head of these thoughts.

I've found suits and ties, the whole nine yards, whatever that phrase means. Ever since I broke into the minds of those humans strange phrases and contrasts come to mind. I stepped inside and noticed in the back that my coat was hung up isolated from everything else as if meant to be a trophy. Next to it was a dress. A satin red dress with a single black stripe running down the middle. Such strange clothing, but I found myself imagining her in each piece. She looks so very intimidating with her sly smile and slightly opened eyes showing off a reddish tint amongst the grey. Like a tiger just lying in wait. Despite this factor, she looks so very appealing from her nicely shaped rear to her modesty sized chest. Every curve I could almost feel in my hands as I...

I shook my head frantically to banish these improper thoughts and took a breath. I shouldn't be feeling this way for her. I know this, but I feel... How can I feel right now? This isn't right. Is my body broken?

I rose my hands and felt a slight warmth on top that wasn't my own.

What am I reacting to that's causing this?

I shook my head again and approached my coat. I touched the fabric of the coat and suddenly my left arm pulsed. My coat arch with electricity at certain places and stopped leaving me confused. There must've been some form of foreign affluence on it else my spell wouldn't have reacted to it. I reached into the pockets and found a square thing inside one that arced when I picked it up. My mark just purged all matter that was foreign from my coat and this square thing is one of them. I searched the rest of the pockets and found that it was gone.

"The Harrowed Key is gone." I growled and thought out loud.

That woman! That explains the brownish-red glow she had around her neck.

That damn Karasuba!

That woman has it around her damn neck of all places.

I left the coat where I found it and retreated to hide in wait for this woman under her bed. I laid my head down and focused my chi to mask my presence and my scent once more. I rested under the bed as the minute's past. A sound roused me from my trance and I felt her return to the room. The woman yawned as she walked into the bedroom. I heard a couple noises and looked to the side. Her coat was on the floor and her top followed. She's stripping off her clothing to do something, most likely to bathe, and rest for the rest of the day. The woman hummed a tune that I found to be sort of appealing. Something happened today to put her in a good mood. Too bad I'm here to turn it around and put her down if I can.

Karasuba walked out the door and turned right not even bothering to cover herself. Before she left she opened her closet and looked straight down at something. Maybe the coat trop hung up in her closet. I crawled from under and searched the clothing she had and found nothing. She wore it around her neck even while naked. I noticed her sword on a racket behind me. She's disarmed and an easy target unless she noticed something amiss and is baiting me. Even if this is a trap I need The Key

Ever so slowly I stalked towards the bathing room. I stopped when I heard the sound of a stream of water falling and hitting a stone surface. A... shower it what it's called. Another wonder of the future. Silently, I opened the door and saw her in the shower washing herself in a booth that hid her body from view. I saw the key around her neck and made my way inside with my special sight. I blended in with the haze and took to the walls where the door is.

Karasuba soon finished with a sigh and turned the water off. She exited the booth and the second the door shut I moved in and took her by the shoulder. She smirked and twisted her arm and took my shoulder in her monster grip. I slipped out and kicked the back off her leg making her stagger slightly, but she saw it coming and pressed the arch of her foot on my shin. What she didn't expect was the hidden blade on my left wrist to shoot out aimed at her throat. In the pause I yanked her arm behind her back then pushed the woman against the wall and pressed my body against her own. I locked her leg with mine and felt her twitch as I pressed the edge of the blade into her neck.

"Karasuba." I greeted to which she looked back to me and looked into my eyes with hers narrowly opened. The message in her eyes was obvious. "How long did you know?"

"I knew you were here the whole time monkey."

"I thought so," I exhaled. I knew that she could sense me just as well as I could sense her. I could even feel her skin against mine own without her being in the vicinity. She even allowed me to roam her living space. Karusuba allowed me to get close to her like this.

I sighed and let my hold on her arm slacken until she hummed in contempt. I didn't wish to cause her harm it seems. I held no viable reason to even if she did try to kill me. I didn't take offense. She was just following orders.

Karusuba glanced back at me. I couldn't see it, but I knew she was smiling at me.

"I didn't know where or when you were going to strike. I assumed it would have been in my bed room to most likely ravage me or something." She grinned at me.

My cheeks burned even though I knew she was playing with me in that department. I felt a small pinch in my chest and a fire in my stomach. Her words were teasing and mocking in nature, but I can sense she was a little antsy at the mention of that. Feeling her press her back to my chest made a shiver run up my spine. It didn't matter to me if she's damp from her shower. Just having this contact seemed to evoke a fire in my core.

I gulped down the frog in my throat and took a breath to get my bearing back. "I don't care about that."

"No" She looked unsurprisingly amused at my denouncing. Those eyes asked me just who am I trying fool? Herself or me. "I don't appeal to you then Jäger-chan."

I rolled my eyes. I rose my hand up and trailed up her chest. I could feel her shiver involuntary as I neared her the key.

"So what, are you going to rape me?"

"One, don't tempt me," I growled. I'm not in the mood for such. "And two, don't flatter yourself Karasuba," I scoffed. "You're not worth the trouble or that action."

"That's not a nice thing to say to a woman," she groaned playfully.

I sighed getting tired of this naked awkward thing we had going on and took the key in hand and rose it up.

"So, your key is worth something after all. I noticed that black coat was messed with yet still here, so that means this take priority."

"Nod your head so I can take it off," I said.

"And why should I? You didn't even ask nicely."

I took a breath and responded, "Would you kindly nod your head, before I kill you?"

The woman shivered again with a smirk staring into my eyes with her redden gray ones.

"Now, nod your head." I whispered in her ear and she obeyed. "See, it's just that easy."

I took the key from around her neck and looked at it. Suddenly my feet were kicked out from under me, but I caught myself from hitting the floor and rolled over.

"Indeed," she said.

I grunted and kicked up to my feet only to lose my breath as her elbow contacted my chest knocking the air from my lungs. Karasuba rose her foot and landed a kick to my chest forcing me back. My back impacted with a wall, and Karasuba was on me faster than cheetah. She's willingly engaging me in close quarters combat. Not a good idea.

I pocketed the Key and dodged her attacks the best I could. I caught some and tried to get a hold but couldn't get a grip on her slippery skin. Her swift reactions as well made it increasingly more difficult to get a read on her. Karasuba proved before that she's faster than me and it shows now. When I attempted an attack she was already moving to parry the moment I shifted. I know my way around fist fighting enough to deflect or parry the shots I couldn't dodge. She was fighting almost like a balanced brawler that knew how to protect her sides and front mostly, but Hand-to-hand was not her forte. I have the advantage, but what she lacked in the experience more than made up for in her superior agility and flexibility.

I caught one of her punches in hand and kicked her ankles or tried too. She stopped my kick with her own really showing off the superhuman strength she holds. Suddenly, she climbed up to my shoulders and wrapped a leg around my neck. She leaned back bringing me along for the ride. I was flung up in moments from a throw. I didn't see this coming or ever heard of a technique like this. I hit the floor hard and in a skid. I grit my teeth as I struggled to my shaky feet. My weight saved me from hitting the ceiling. Karusuba underestimated just how heavy I am and didn't use enough strength to fling me all the way. Sadly, I'm still a bit weak and need a little more time to rest. Time that I don't have.

When I reached my feet, she was on me again with a kick. An easily telegraphed kick that I evaded with a simple duck to sidestep. I caught her with my arm around her chest and my hand hooking onto her left side. I stepped forward, leaned forward, twisted around, and threw her to the wall opposite of me. Unlike what I did before she rolled and landed in a cat like crouch. I coughed from that elbow from earlier and the shots it took to the sides. I looked up to see how my opponent was only to see her panting hard and oddly flustered if I'm not imagining things.

Karasuba took a stance and turned out to be breathing hard much like I was. I took my own stance as well with my hands house and hands clinched with my right over my left and leveled. She's panting hard. I'm sure if it's was because of the heat in this room, but her cheeks are a fiery red. It's like she had a fever, but last I knew she was perfectly healthy. Without my permission I found myself looking at her instead of into her. Whenever I fight someone I focus on the eyes for they speak louder than the body most times. This was a golden trend I've held for years, but for once I found myself looking down. Her hard breaths gave me a view of the nice bust she has. Since she's naked I saw everything from the shape to the bounce up and down in a hypnotic way.

 **'Keep yourself under control!'** I heard within my mind. I shook my head to banish the thoughts that layered my mind. I'm hunting right now. I shouldn't be thinking about the sins of the flesh and pathetic primal urges like this. I was trained better, and I know better. I've learned through experiences that many others couldn't fathom or even hope to survive that this is foolish of me to think of. I need to stay focused.

I drew my eyes back up to a place above her shoulders and noticed Karasuba with a sly smile on her lips. Those eyes of hers seemed to look through me. When's the last time I was gazed upon with a glare like this? I believe the last time was from a Vampire Prince. I was only a year into my joining when faced against a foe so powerful that it made me stutter. He desired me in more ways than one. He bit me, and I wonder if it's still there on my shoulder. This woman looks at me in the same fashion.

Unlike when I was only 17 winter solstices into my life, I've been welded together into a fortress to hunt and kill all things monster. This stare means little to me now and only seemed to make me smile as well. Why am I smiling? How does this woman have such an effect on me? I can barely keep my aura in check right now. It almost like Karasuba's energy and her core is syncing up with mine. It's causing my internals to spike. What's happening to my body to cause this sudden state of unrest? My hands, while they should be normally still and relaxed, are now shaky and restive. My breath is labored despite the little I've done. My training makes it so I can respond to any threat to my life and soul. I'm trained to be still like the earth but flow like the water. Somehow my stillness is fraught.

Karasuba is in a state of stillness compared to me. She's in the ideal mind much more than me. She's calm and battle driven like myself on a good day. She has a very nice and well-balanced body with very nicely shaped legs if slightly plumb. Her skin is pale like her hair. It's glowing faintly in the bathroom light. I looked down to from top to bottom unintentionally. Karasuba lowered her hand down and pointed up at the level where my eyes are. I felt my core burn harshly and looked right back up to Karasuba's smile that said 'I caught you red handed,' and an amused look in her eyes.

"You're such a pervert. Checking me out like that." She put her hands on her hips. "I should kill you for such."

I sighed and broke my stance and reached up to the buttons of my blouse. "True you should kill me for this." I undid all the buttons in one pull down and opened my blouse. "I should strip as well. It's only fair."

Karusuba looked taken back by this. "You don't need to do that."

"Of course I do. I couldn't stop myself from looking at your body so I'll return the favor."

I put the Black Blade in a corner as my blouse and shirt fell from my chest. The redness from her cheeks increased so much that she started to pant harder. She remained in control well enough to remain standing, but her eyes glued on my form. I met her eyes with my own. She's that transfixed with my form?

Interesting.

I clenched the wet vest I had and tossed it straight into Karusuba's face. She let her guard down and stepped back a little from the impact. With the window of time given to me I jumped out the door away from the woman closing the door on my way out with the Black Blade and blouse in hand. The jest means little to me and a few seconds are all I need. I closed the doors on my way to the shower room. It made the woman pause for a second on whether to ram through the door or open them manually. Because she's a neat and orderly woman she closed the doors on her way out thus wasting more time to catch me. I only need one or two seconds to grab what I need and get out. I've thought of taking to the maze once more but decided against that. I'll jump out the window and make a tactical landing at the bottom the only way a Jäger can.

I see myself as a fast individual, but she was faster than me it seems. "Got you," I heard a whisper right behind me. I felt someone tackle me to the ground the moment I reached the bed room and the closet. I landed on my stomach with a grunt feeling something soft on my back. I froze with my hands out and her sword planted next to my neck. She moved so fast that she was able to claim her broken blade to turn on me. This woman is amazing like I thought.

"You turned your back to me. That wasn't smart," she purred in my ear forcing me to gulp at the tone she used.

"I'm worried about your modesty, aren't you?" I deadpanned.

"Says the man that was stripping in front of me?" She deadpanned back. She got me there after all who in their right mind fights naked.

"Listen… I…"

"Oh, I'm listening to every word. Might as well let you get your last words in before I finish this." Karasuba smiled and crossed her arms with her sword still in hand straddling my back so I couldn't get up. I could push her off of me, but with the position I'm in right now that would only get me killed. I need to think if I want to keep my life, or more importantly, my head.

'Follow your instincts.' I think I thought up which is strange.

Instincts are a one-way street to becoming a beast. The same I hunt who allow primal instinct to lead their lives towards sin and destruction. A Jäger doesn't adhere to primal instincts, but so these thoughts don't matter. I don't need instincts when I have rational thinking. What I know about this woman so far is that I'm having an effect on her. She's disheveled and slipping to the point that she's hesitating to kill or incapacitate me. I noticed her flustered expression when I removed just a few articles of clothing. I might be able to talk my way out this. I have to make these last words count.

I took a breath in and out.

I banged my forehead to the floor. "Killed by a beautiful woman. I always knew it would end this way," I spoke out and waited for a response to this. If just a show of skin can confuse her maybe compliments can do the same. I've yet to meet a woman that can't be swayed with the word 'beautiful' and hopefully it works here.

"Beautiful huh?" The woman mused.

I would look back but the blade at the back of my neck stopped me. I have to sound a bit less agitated and more ironically earnest as if I'm laying down my sins before that last moment I stop breathing. "What, no one ever call you that before?"

"Nope, and if they did I would have killed them," Karasuba muttered.

'Of course she would,' I thought as banged my head onto the floor again. The compliment placed that blade further into the back of my neck so maybe this is the wrong path to take. I suppose capitulation is next. I need to make her believe I'm resigning to my fate. Just enough to get a foothold in this precarious situation I got myself in.

"Well, hurry up and kill me then," I said like my life didn't matter to me.

"You want to die?"

Karasuba leaned back a little enough for her sword to come up off the back of my neck. This might work then. I just need to keep it going. "No, but if you killed me at least a beauty did me in. Rather a woman than an ignorant man." I decided to go for a combination of bother complementary words and relenting statements. I added a bit of sexism that appeals to women as well.

"That sounded more than skin deep."

"I have seen what men do and what they can do that is why I made my life killing them all for a profit of course," I responded.

"Hmm." Karasuba thought on my words and touched the scar on my back that has an exit wound in the front. The entire time she was quiet I listened to the panting come from her mouth as her broken blade brushed against my neck. Her body was warm and wet from the shower she took. Her rear pressed onto my back and her hand rubbed my scar. She wasn't as heavy as I thought she would be and didn't mind position that much. I did the same to her a minute ago. Its only fair I suppose.

"You're lucky I'm not in the killing mood right now. Maybe I'll let you go." The sword lifted up from the wooden floors and I felt Karasuba's warm rear lift from my back.

It worked. It worked masterfully. She even stood up on her own accord and told me she's not in the killing mood.

I looked back just encase she doesn't have that sword of hers pointed downward to thrust into my back. I saw her standing and moved couple feet away from me. She's waiting for me to stand maybe, so slowly I stood up to my feet. I faced her and averted my eyes when her grey ones focused on my own. Those eyes of hers are now fully open to the point that the effect they had on me before returned but with full force. My spine quivered, and I squeezed my hands to the point that it felt they would bleed.

"You're blushing too," Karasuba mocked. "You must've liked me sitting on you pervert."

"I… didn't think that." I said this truthfully. I was focused on a way to get her off me without losing this life. So far it's worked out in my favor. I was never a good talker outside of business and the time in the Abyss didn't help bolster my weakened skills either. It's worked out well enough for now.

"But it was something perverted," she pointed out.

I bite my lip wishing I had my coat on. My stomach sank when she said that because I'm not sure how to respond. Karasuba approached me and drew closer than I'd like. I almost jumped when Karasuba placed a hand on the scar on my chest shaped like a deformed long diamond. Then her hand fell down to three scars on my torso that lead to my stomach and soft organs. The areas I was stabbed with halberds. I've few scars and the ones of Betrayal do more than scar my body.

Karasuba rose her hand to touch my cheek. I expected her to be rough or forceful, but she was uncharacteristically gentle as she turned my face until eyes met hers. In those grey orbs I saw longing and a bit of lust as well. "You're supposed to be him?" She whispered so softly that it was on the edge of hearing.

"To be what?" I questioned.

Karasuba looked me over and grinned again. "I like you more than Natsuo. At least you can stand up to me. You owe me a new sword as well for breaking my last one." I looked down to the broken Nodachi in her hands. The same one I cut down the center with the last of my energy. The combined force I gathered from her strikes through use of Ki, point impact potential enhanced with chi, my Od to steady the cut, and all this coupled with Hate (the sharpest blade in existence alongside the Muramasa and Kasanagi as the only blades that match it) I can virtually cut almost anything in two made by mortal hands. Her sword was no match against my united attack.

"You tried to kill me," I reasoned with the woman.

"No," she shook her head. "I tried to incapacitate you and you did me that disservice."

I thought on her logic for a moment and found myself at a disadvantage. She was given an order to capture me. If I was in her shoes my target would've ended up with a couple lacerations, bruises, and broken bones to ensure they couldn't run again. I can't not blame her for her actions in the end. I am the one at fault.

"I can do that," I sighed.

Karasuba nodded in approval at my acquiescence and said, "Good, I'd hate for my Ashikabi to be unable to do something as simple."

"Your… Ashikabi?" I don't recognize this word. It's actually the first time I've heard of this "Ashikabi" person. Is it a name ore a title? It must be something newly developed in this era's culture. Maybe it means debtor after all I have to present her a sword to replace the one I cut through. If so that would make me an Ashikabi. I have my knapsack in the corner anyway. I tossed it there when I felt her behind me, and I have a sword she could use, maybe.

I noticed Karasuba's smile that changed from its cruel comparison to something more peculiar. Before I could react she pulled me towards her for what I can only assume is a kiss. Her lips are puckered out and she leaned up onto her toes to match my height enough to do this. It was obvious. My arm glowed, and I moved faster than ever before out of her grasp. Od channeled through my body enough to push my agility past human confines. To do so in bursts isn't too difficult or dangerous so I won't reprimand myself. Still, I can't believe I lost control for a moment and did that unanticipatedly. That was on instinct and that's not good.

Karasuba stopped as her arms fell to her sides. Her panting was harder than ever before, and her expression shifted from serene to rage. "You stupid man!" She roared at me. Her tone took a turn showing a side I've never seen before. "How dare you make me react like this and then refusing me!"

I stepped back away from the woman. I looked over to the closet which she noticed and gestured to it. I nodded and journeyed back inside keen on grabbing my coat. With it in hand in hand I left the closet in the room. I couldn't spot her anywhere which meant she left. I wandered to the main room that Karasuba happened to be inside of and at the same time I felt of her sword coming at me. I leaned and faintly dodged a life-threatening slash for my neck.

"Nice reflexes." She chuckled still naked and in an aggressive stance.

"Karasuba, what do I have to do for you to let me go peacefully?" She didn't kill me and allowed me to get my coat. What more could this woman want from me?

"And why would I do that," she said with a voice full of vehement amusement. She's angry at me? Just because I refused to kiss her she's now infuriated at me. We met only days ago so how can this work. I'm not even one to making commitment. I tried that once and now I've a hole in my heart that'll never heal.

I took a breath and gestured to her current state. "Because you're still naked and unless you're into strange tendencies and like to give strangers a free show you should give me a pass or two."

Karasuba frowned and looked down to her state of modesty. She shook her head furiously then sighed. "Very well. I hate to make a bad third impression after all," she clicked tongue in annoyance before moving past me. Well, it's more like she shoved me out the way and stopped at her door frame. Karasuba pointed to the door and I nodded in conformation and said "Thank you," just to be polite to my host. I started to leave, but the further away I got away the heavier my steps became. I stopped at the front door with my hands up on the door stopping me from exiting. I felt it in my body that I shouldn't leave. Not yet that is. Before I knew it, my body was moving back the way it came. I wandered into her bedroom ronde more and noticed her standing silently in the middle of the room. Her head was down slightly, and she was trembling. Her sword clicked with every shiver.

I glanced upon Karusuba who appeared distraught. With her back turned to me I couldn't make out her expression, but for some reason I can tell. I couldn't leave... Not yet.

A sentence came to mind suddenly. I don't know where it came from, but it did make me curious enough to say it. "You're reacting to me, like I you," I declared even though I've no idea what that means. It was... instinctive. It's wrong, but I can't seem to stop myself from progressing forward.

Karusuba clicked her tongue and shot her closed eyed stare back at me. "You have guts to say that to me monkey. I should really kill you for that especially after refusing me," she reminded me harshly. "I doubt you even know what you're talking about." She made another good point, but before I could answer she continued. "And you aren't my Ashikabi. I already have one chosen for me."

Ashikabi? I still don't understand that word is, but I felt I was on the right track to finding out. It's not a debtor so maybe if I push a little harder I can find out.

 _'Play it by ear,'_ I heard in the back of my mind.

"Really." I stepped up towards the woman. "I've a feeling that this "Ashikabi' thing means more to you than you wish to show. Am I right? After all you tried to kiss me." I approached the woman with a blank expression. "Why did you try to kiss me?" I asked her. I might be mistaken, but the signs are there. She demanded I tell her why I rejected her. She wants something from me and it starts with a kiss.

Karasuba averted her gaze back but stood her ground. "It was a mistake I don't…"

"You want me," I stopped her there. I'm still not sure where this is coming from. "I can see it in your eyes, your stance, body language, and smell the pheromones you're emitting. You re 'reacting' to me like you mentioned before." I took another step and Karasuba glared into me with her broken sword at my neck.

"You don't know what you are talking about human," she growled at me.

"Maybe," I might not but she's called me "human' instead of "monkey' just now. I smiled a bit at this. "It isn't hard to figure it out."

"I don't want you." She declared with that panting returning. Her legs looked like they were about to give out any minute now, but she was too strong to look that weak. I took her broken sword in two fingers and brought it back without any resistance. My body just moved on its own.

"I… I do want you though Karasuba." Her eyes widened from my admission. From there they narrowed as she retreated back.

"T-that doesn't change anything."

"You said I' stronger and more preferable than this 'Natsuo' man you mentioned," I pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Are you sure? A woman like you desires strong beings like myself. You don't wish to suffer weaklings like this Natsuo."

"What I desire doesn't matter. I have…"

"Tried to kiss the man standing on front of you and are so aroused your legs are about to get out." Her legs are quivering like they are made of jello. Whatever jello is.

Karasuba closed her eyes and smirked. "You stupid man. I should kill you."

"Please do." I stepped up to Karasuba with my arms out welcoming it.

Her eyes finally started to open and took a step back in response.

"Kill me." I said, and Karasuba took a second step back.

"Cut me." I stepped closer.

"Destroy me. I don't understand but I want this from you."

Karasuba's back impacted the wall. I placed my hands on both sides of her head and looked through her like she did me. "Oh," she leaned forward with one eye open. Her eyes are crimson red much like the blood that permanently stains her hands. I felt sort of appealed to the off color. "You want me to destroy you that badly?" Karasuba tilted her head a little with a complex gaze. "What if I told you if I wanted you to bleed for me what would you say?"

"You're worth it. And in truth, I would love it if you and I destroyed each other until there was nothing left. It might be fun." I smiled at the woman. The same faint smile I'd equip from a hunt worth undertaking.

Like that Karasuba took the back of my neck in hand and pressed her lips to mine. I felt some sort of pull on my very essence. Chi, Ki, Od, and even the kind in my right arm.

The snake of a tongue that Karasuba has penetrated my lips and attacked my own. On reflex my arms came up and wrapped around her waist and pressed her chest to my own. I met her challenge in the battle of tongues with glee and started to close my eyes. I would have until I saw the energy she took from me mold and fuse with her own then emerge from her back in what could only be pillars of black and grey lights.

Pillars that turned into what I could only perceive as wings. Raven black wings flying out to the surround as they're real appendages. They moved the bed over, the dressers, and rubbed against the walls leaving burn trails along the paint. Karasuba moaned as the wings spread out lighting up the room and increased with the intensity of our osculating. I finally closed my eyes and pressed down mashing my lips down meeting force with force. It was then I noticed that she is also shorter than I am by a couple inches. She looked down on me the entire time not too long ago. Even today she looked at me at eye level but physically she stopped at my nose. Karasuba's leg came up and wrapped around my waist. From the previous experiences I have witnessed I took her leg in hand with my free hand and squeezed tighter trying my body molded to her own.

I suddenly felt some sort of presence in the back of my mind like a whisper. An echo from her to me. It was trying placing a new light in my dark world. One that I really couldn't understand all that well, but it wasn't life threatening or dangerous in nature. In truth it felt sort of good. This feels amazing.

 _This is what it feels like to find an ashikabi. This power and these thoughts. This power is his, this energy filling me to the brim. Oh goddess I want this. No, I NEED this!_

I heard this within my mind and groaned in her mouth. Yes, we do need this.

The wings faded away at the same time those thoughts did. Karasuba licked my lips teasing me before pulling away with a pleasurable look on her face. I'd let her go, but I was frustrated. Maybe the most frustrated man on this world right now, and I won't be toyed with.

I cupped both of Karasuba's cheeks and hoisted her up making her "eep" a little in surprise. She purred with my initiative then wrapped her legs around my waist. I attacked her lips with an almost savage tenacity. The sort of craving that seemed to make Karasuba all the more excited. I could feel it. Her legs wrapped around my waist squeezing so hard it almost forced the wind out of me. I pushed her against the wall smashing our chests together. I sucked on her tongue and bit down on her lower lip as she gave me entrance. I licked her tongue and teeth tasting her and finding the flavor to my liking. She tasted like apples and blood. It was perfect.

Her greyish red eyes met my own basking in the emotions that transferred between us. Karasuba wanted to kill me but she also wanted me to break her in two. She hates weakness and prized strength above all. Something I showed when in the instances she has suffered me again and again.

"Sekirei…" She mumbled between kisses, but I ignored it to press on. Karasuba moaned in my mouth as my right hand left her rear then took her chest. I grasp her left breast and squeezed while pinching the darkened brown nipple on top. Her own hands took my back and neck in a vicious hold as if telling me to continue on.

Patience doesn't seem to be a virtue here.

I tried to press farther but she licked my lips and pulled back again. She was breathing as if she ran a mile in less than a minute with a glazed look in her eyes. It was still focused enough to make heads or tails.

"Number 04." She panted and kissed my cheek. "Karasuba is yours." She met me half way with her tongue out to a clash that heated up again. My coat and knapsack fell from my shoulders as was well as my blouse leaving me in my undershirt. "My Ashikabi."

Her hands are so soft and well trained for fine movements on light surfaces. These hands flew under my shirt and lifted it up to my chest without me noticing. She explored my every marking and scars on my torso and stomach with a hungry look in her eyes. That hunger in her eyes seemed to wane a bit when she spotted on of the scars on my abdomen. She scanned the scar silently with a mix of curiosity and astonishment.

"Forever and ever," she mumbled these last few words. Her attention seemed to me on that dark and barely healed over mark around my heart. Her touch was tentative as if she's afraid to touch it. I felt uncomfortable and small needles of pain as she physically studied it. Memories of the lance the pierced through my heart flashed across my eyes. It's been so long since that happened, but it's marred my soul even to this day.

I gripped her wrist just before she could go further and brought her attention but up to me. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt much anymore and besides," I leaned inward until out noses were nearly touching. "We have better to do than look at old wounds."

Karasuba gave the scar one last glance before she followed my unsaid wishes. Her hand went limp in my grip and I let her go. Karasuba kissed me on the lips one last time before pulling back again with a smirk and said, "You're a fascinating one." I felt my shirt begin to raise up as the lust in her eyes for me and what I could provide became evident. "We should continue," she agreed. Karasuba lifted up my shirt up encouraging me to lift my arms to take it off the obstructive piece of clothing.

It was hot in the room and less clothing would better, right?

I started to lift my arms until I heard a knocking sound. Karasuba frowned and looked from me towards the direction of the knocking. The knocking must have come from the door to enter this living space. She narrowed her eyes at it then rolled her eyes.

"Tssk," she grunted in irritation but still kissed my forehead to get me back into focus. "Leave it, this is more," she cupped my cheeks in hand and brought my face closer to her own and whispered, "Important."

Her lips hovered over my own but then the knocking came again, but this time in a pattern that sounded like a tune. It was sort of whacky in the rhythm it made as well. I was about to ignore it for the beautiful black angel of death in my arms but by the sour look in her eyes, eyes that closed fast after that, it was someone she knew and wasn't at all amused to deal with right now.

"I finally get a worthy ashikabi that is hungry for me and He comes by just before we get to the good part." Karasuba complained heatedly." I hate men with bad timing."

"Hm," I pressed my nose against hers and looked into her eyes. "Then what about my timing then?" My timing isn't really the best in the world along with my luck.

Karasuba laughed and pushed me away from her. She hopped off the dressed landing on her feet. I caught the bounce of her moderate chest and the shapely pair of legs she has on her. "Go get it. I have to dressed anyway."

I felt like telling her to go get it herself then leave but something stopped me. I'm a trespasser in her home so within good manners its best honor my gracious host while in her household. With a small nod I turned to leave, but was stopped in my tracks when I felt her take hold of my shoulder.

"And can you stop ogling me long enough to get dressed," Karasuba directed towards me with her yes flowing downward.

I rose an eyebrow at this and looked down to my current state of modesty. My shirt is barely hanging on by my right shoulder. My pants are unfastened and my belt undone showing off my undergarments. By normal standards I really do need to get myself situated before I meet any new people. I quickly gathered my discarded articles of clothing and put them back on. The entire time I was getting dressed I noticed Karasuba doing the same, but with her eyes flowing my eye occasionally.

"You're one too talk," I muttered.

"Excuse you," she said quickly.

I leaned back up and looked down at the woman. "It was your hands and eyes studying me like I'm a piece of meat before and again while I got dressed."

Karasuba narrowed her eyes at me and stepped up into my face. "I'm a lady," she said like that was the only excuse she needed. "So I am allowed to admire my ashikabi. You're a man," she reminded me while pointing me in the chest with every other word, "So you're supposed to control yourself more in front of said lady."

My eye twitched but I didn't challenge this. I learned long ago just to go with it when it came to the female species.

I shrugged as I placed the Black Blade back onto my back. "Very well I won't show interest in you ever again." I smirked at the slight narrow of the sekirei's eyes. I stepped through the door but stopped unable to move for a second. I looked back and saw my wrist in Karasuba's soft hands.

"On second thought, if it is that man, just ignore him and leave the way you came and wait for me out front." Before I could ask why she placed a finger on my lips with a look that said 'just do it', and if she is like this because of this man it is probably in my best interest I listen. I nodded and she let me go. "We'll keep in touch later Jaeger-chan."

"Otieno." Karasuba blinked. "That's a name I prefer. You can call me that."

Karasuba smiled cruelly and let my hand go. "Off you go then Otieno-kun." She walked away with an over-exaggerated sway in her hips. "We'll put a 'to be continued' on this for later." She stated in such a straightforward manner that it made me think she wasn't serious, but then I remembered that is just how she usually is.

I nodded closing the door behind me. The knocking was annoy because the man was constantly doing it. I felt it as well when I opened the front door. I looked down and saw a man knocking on my chest like it was the door. You'd think a man would notice whether or not he was knocking on a door or a man's chest. I was taller than the man with white hair, glasses, and a white outfit that made me want to shoot him just to add some form of color to it. This must be the man Karasuba was telling me about and the man was talking on a light box thing not really paying attention to what he was knocking on.

"Yes I understand." I spoke in a lively tone.

The man was still knocking on my chest as he talked in his light box.

"I trust you will be a suitable leader for her, trust me." The man laughed. "Come now, have I ever steered you wrong Natsuo-kun?"

There was that name again. Who is this Natsuo man anyway?

"Just think about it okay… Yes, Sayonara."

The man closed the box thing and put it in his pocket then looked over to me. "Man when did she get this as a door decoration? Ha, I knew I would get her to liven up, but an 18th century assassin, come on."

"I'm no decoration," I stated dryly.

The man tensed yet he kept knocking on my chest even when he look up to my face. "Ah," He looked at me from top to bottom then looked back into the room. "I was wondering why the door was three dimensional all of a sudden."

I sighed and shook my head at the man's laugh. "Can you stop knocking on my chest?" The man still knocked on my chest even though he realized I wasn't the door. I feel he's messing with me, or maybe he's just mental.

"Of course that's my bad!" The man crossed his arms and stepped back. "Out of all the things I expected to come out of Karasuba-chan's room a man was not one of them. I hadn't had the alarm installed yet so you I'm unsure whether or not you wing her. Then again, she let you live; the one who got away."

What was this man talking about? Before I could ask this his opened his hands out from his chest excitedly.

"What a wonderful surprise! I was worried she would never simmer down and find an ashikabi, let alone a man." The man cupped his chin and looked up in a thoughtful gaze. "Then again I was talking on the phone. I wouldn't have heard the alarms. Then again, then again, that alarm isn't installed yet so that begs the question on 'Why are there so many questions to ask?' and many more!"

My urge to punch this man continues to grow the more he opened his mouth.

"Ask her I need to go."

"Oh, sorry, forgive me. Here," the man stood out of the way and said, "the elevator it on the third right, second left, and at the end of the hall. Press the small indent shaped like a hexagon to open the door."

"So that's what that was," I muttered. I noticed that indent on ever floor bit ignored it. I nodded and walked away. "Thank you."

"Anytime! Come back soon so we can talk more player one. I can explain the rule and benefits!"

I take it back, that man is pretty decent. I'll have to look into those benefits he mentioned as well.

* * *

The elevator is where he said it is and it instantly started its descent down.

The door opened and a women with grey hair walk in. She saw me and shrugged as she pressed a button to go farther down. The smell of smoke in her was killing me. The women was an attractive older women for a Japanese women. Not much in the way of breasts from what I could see but her rear on the other hand was above average even with the baggy clothing she wore.

"You look well." I shook out of my stare and looked up to the woman.

"Excuse me?" The woman turned around and faced me and I finally saw her face and sighed. "Miss Takami Sahashi."

"Mr. Otieno Jaeger."

My eyes were hidden from view but I could still see hers and they showed not only curiosity but expectancy. She knew I was coming or already here to begin with.

"I see you got your coat back," I looked upon my coat and I stroked the side of it.

"Yes, I did."

"Well, that's good. I was afraid Karasuba would have smothered it until it faded away."

Wait, that woman hugged my coat, but not just hug but smothered it. That explains the lingering smell of blood and apple cinnamon on the inside and outside. The apple cinnamon is what confused me sort of.

"Yep," I said without any indication of my acceptance or conformation of whether or not I heard her. I waited for the number above to reach the number one which I assume means the ground floor. "This race of things like Karasuba, what are they? I know they're called Sekirei" I got silence as the woman seemed to thing on a proper answer to give me.

"Karasuba didn't tell you when you had her emerge?" She sounded surprised. "I suppose she cared more about… other things."

I sighed and shook my head as the elevator hit the first floor. "Why do you think I am the one that caused this emergence, as you call it?"

The woman just stared at me with the emptiest stare she could muster. "Can you allow me to put you in the system?"

"No." I said as quickly as the woman asked me previously.

"I only wish for a continuation of what was interrupted before."

"Like when you sick your dog on me?"

"Don't you mean 'your dog' now," she jested I believe which honestly caught me off guard at the suddenness and unexpectedness of the jest. This coming from Madam Serious all that time. She noticed my current state of shock and coughed to get me back into the loop. "You became hostile and uncooperative. You also threw a steak knife at me."

"Very true, but it wasn't me that spiked the other's food." I reminded the woman.

Takami was quiet for the rest of the way down. "I see," the woman sighed. She pushed a button and the door closed on us. "Loom, the city works electronically. It's mostly computer ran. That includes most high to low end businesses. Without some form of identification you'll have a difficult time with requesting any form of services. For example: buying property or using a bank."

I took a moment to let it all sink in. Everything is electronically ran? I feel it has something to do with that surface thing that this woman used. Does that mean I have to be capable of being identified by anyone everywhere I go? I have to be known to use a bank or buy food. That's strange for the second option but I can believe I for the first.

"What do you need from me Mrs. Sahashi?"

The woman's eyes flashed, and a ghost of a smile formed on her lips. "One: for you not to call me that. Two: I'm not married so don't add that 'Mrs.' into my name, if you can help it." The fact she said she wasn't married made my curiosity towards this Ms. Sahashi Takami grow. She seems like the sort of woman that would sooner bite you head off before healing you like a proper doctor would. She's not married and has children. Even with the clothing I see I can easily see through them to the marked signs of child birth, along with a faint scent of pasty milk. She hasn't breast fed in maybe 14 years so her youngest is maybe 17 or 18. She has the residual smell of the man I met in the hallway on her. I've no desire to assume she would mate with that man, or any woman for that matter.

"I only want a moment of your time to make some sort of background for you, that's it."

That wasn't it. I feel that she wants to do much more than create a 'background' for me. I feel that maybe she wants to experiment on me but can't. Something or someone has a collar on her and had pulled that leash back enough to keep her from what she truly wants from me.

"So far we've nothing on you and most of the company, Karasuba included, have researched high and low to figure out who you are but came up with nothing. Ite like you've never existed until a few days ago."

That sounded about right for my case. I swear if I find that damned demon witch again I'm going to kill it, bring it back to life, torture it for a week, and repeat this four times before finish it off with a spell to make it so it can't die from drowning. Then I'm going to get a boat, a cannon, come chains and sail to the middle of the ocean with that witch in tow. Maybe the deepest chasm in the ocean I can find.

"In my line of work that's the point." I said making Takami arch an eyebrow.

"What is your line of work?" This time it was my turn to arch an eyebrow.

"I believe I've answered that question before Ms. Sahash. And you don't really need to know if you are looking for information to give the masses. Can you not fake my identification information with anything you want?" I looked around for a moment almost mockingly. "You do work in a place ran electronically." Takami hummed in probably bemusement towards me but didn't say anything else if that qualifies as her saying anything. "If you want to know a part of my job then remember this: matter where you go or who you talk to I will know, because I have eyes everywhere." This was a half-truth and a big one but I stayed serious and confident in my looks and tone. I made sure to look Takami straight in the eye during as well. The woman looked away from me after a time and the moment she turned away the door opened to the twelfth floor.

"But if you desire to have some information on me I can provide some as long as you examined fully what you plan to do with it. Is this agreeable with you?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Of course," she said easily. "Please follow me to the checkup room."

"Checkup room?"

"Yes, it's where I'll take down your medical history."

"Oh." Medical history things that doctors do. How will she be able to find out the history of my medical things if she wasn't there to see it? I guess I'll find out eventually.

"Karasuba was interested in me that much?" I asked almost too shocked to hide the shock itself. I'm positive this woman picked up on it.

"You could say that, after all you are the one that got away."

Again with that. The man from before said that and now this woman. Karasuba must have a record of successful hunts if an instance like this is rare.

Takami opened a door for me and let me enter a room much like the hospital one I met Chiho in.

"Please take a seat." I complied and sat on the bed. "Now are you okay with giving blood because..."

"No." I said quickly. Takami didn't expect the quick answer before she even finished and pressed on.

"It's only a sample too…"

"No."

"Why not, afraid of needles," she jeered at me with a shiny ready to puncture someone's neck sort of needle. It looked like it was meant to take blood from a horse or an ox, not a man with how large it was. To be truthful I was a little perturbed by the way she smiled with that 'am going to make you suffer' look in her eyes. It's even more disturbing since her focus is primarily on my open arm.

"No," I said cunningly so to sound believable but not too believable so she could call me on my bluff. While I'm not afraid of a needle, after all I utilize them myself, but I prefer not to be poked, prodded, or punctured by any kind of pointy object. "I believe blood should be spilt in battle or during intimate times with a rough partner and no other time."

Takami looked taken back, "My, you are… blunt."

"Thank you," I state gratefully. Thiz woman has no inclination of weight of her request. My blood isn't a toy to be played with or studied. My blood is dangerous. My blood was once dubbed the Waters of Youth once and I'd rather it not fall into mortal hands.

The woman sighed and grabbed a thing with a shiny snap thing at the top. I examined it for a time as Takami wrote on it. "Something wrong?" She asked the moment she caught me staring at her thing.

I pointed to it, "What's that thing?"

Takami rose an eyebrow and looked down to herself and the thing. "You mean this? A clipboard?"

"A clipboard? That's what it's called and it holds your parchments allowing ease of writing without need of an immediate surface," I deduced.

Takami simply nodded.

"Can I have one?"

"Uh… I suppose, but not this one. I need it to hit people with." Takami covered her mouth with wide eyes

Hit people? That thing doesn't appear strong enough to do any substantial damage to a target. Maybe it's all in how you use it. "So, it is a multipurpose tool as well. Interesting."

"You've never seen a clipboard before?"

"No." I said simply.

Takami wrote some more things on that parchment she had and looked back to me each time. "Your name is Jaeger D. Otieno correct?"

"That's the name I gave you, yes." Takami narrowed her eyes at that answer and I shrugged.

"Do you know your blood type?"

What in the divine lords is a blood type? There're different kinds of blood? I thought it was all the same since all people I've cut bleed red?

"No. The only type I know is the kind that spills."

The woman gave me a stare then reached into her pocket for something. A white and green packet of something was in her hand. She opened it and grunted when she saw it was empty then tossed it into a metal bin behind her without looking. "No wonder she likes you," Takami sighed reaching back into her pocket and pulled out another packet but it was white and red.

"What are those?"

Takami took a stick out of the packet and put it to her lips without answering. She flicked this sparks thing that produced fire to light the stick. It was like a mini cigar. Good to know. Takami walked over to the window and opened it to a gust of wind that blew her coat back some.

"So you don't know what a blood type is?" She asked getting back on topic and I shook my head. "This is one reason I need to take a sample to see your blood type."

"Among other things as well Takami." The woman nodded not even bothering to lie. "Blood is life and as consequence holds more power over that person than most believe. I may be ignorant of this… city and how it works but that doesn't mean I'm lack in other departments."

"I'll do well to remember that, but I just need a sample. You can see what I plan to do with it as well if you are unsure Mr. Jaeger."

I grunted in rough thought over this because I know exactly what blood can do. I don't wish to go through any of that right now. Blood is one of the reasons I'm here right now, but I am curious about the technology here that can tell what type of blood you have in your body. I've always thought of blood as blood. Something you need to live and if you lose too much you die. Simple, but it seems with the change of the times things got progressively more complicated.

I waved for her to show me the machine and she reached into her pocket universe and pulled something out of her flat right side pocket on her coat. It had a shiny square on top, a trigger and handle behind that, and a small tube on the front where I assume you put something inside of.

"I need you to put your finger into the tube please." I looked at it for a moment then back to her with a slight narrow of the eyes. "It scans, that's it. I won't do some Hudu witch spell on you are anything."

"Thank god for that."

"What?"

I shook my head, "Nothing." I placed my finger into the tube. Takami pulled the trigger and I felt a puncture on the pad of my finger. A drop of red and black swirled blood fell into the tube and slid down into what the pad went into. The woman's expression of pure disbelief was worth the uncomfortable prick on my finger.

"W-what the hell." She shot her eyes back to me then to the scanner. "How is your DNA a tri-helix?!"

"Why are you asking me when I didn't even know that blood had a type moments ago," I deadpanned and she just growled at my smart tongue. But then her venom spitting lips turned to a smile and her glared turned glazed.

"I am so sorry with how I was treating you before," she said doing a total turn around. "You told me you were born in Germany correct? We researched this and couldn't find anything on you."

"Then make something up. Even if it seems ridiculous and unbelievable it's human nature to believe what you want to."

Tamaki looked at me with narrowed eyes then chuckled. "I'm starting to see why Karasuba is interested in you. You both are alike in many ways."

I shivered slightly. "I see that woman and I swear its Kanji all over again." Takami probably took that name down for later and continued her little examination.

After some time we left to the elevator again and went you to the 23 floor. She led me to a room with some strange black surfaces and a couple large projection things. "Please place your hands on the scanner." I saw what looks like hand marks and pressed my hand on top of them. I saw a couple strange images on the screen things that I couldn't understand and decided not to try to.

I did as instructed silently with no small talk outside of the reasons behind my actions.

I sighed and looked around about ten tears in. "You know you have some interesting characters here."

"What do you mean?" Takami asked.

"I saw a man with a white suit, cape, hair, and glasses. He seemed sort of insane as well and a little off."

Takami's eyes darkened as she finished with a board and pressed her fingers on and a rectangle thing came out of this opening thing in front of me. I took it and looked it over to see some of that basic information on it I gave her and my picture. It was an ID card for me to use and be able to identify myself with.

"So you met him?" She scoffed.

The "him" was a little forced making me wonder what that crazy fool did to anger all these women. "It doesn't matter I suppose. Hewent to visit Karasuba for something, not that it matters."

"Oh, it matters."

I shrugged. "Are we done Takami or are you eager to keep me around a little longer?" The woman sighed at the terrible display of teasing and shook her head.

"Yes, I wish to help you since you are ignorant of the city, to help you with your financial problems."

"And how do I do that."

Takami smirked a bit in response.

* * *

Main Protagonist's Nest of Sekirei: Karasuba(winged), ?(reacting), ?(reacting)

A/N: And... done with this chapter. Honestly when I first saw Karasuba I thought to myself that this chick is insane, but not the bad kind. Yes, she's blood thirsty but I felt there was a reason for it. I love this chick and she'll fit well in the grand scheme.

I'll be revising to more ashikabi's and sekirei that haven't been revealed and even switch a couple around.

If you're wondering about the time line its basically the beginning phases of MBI's introduction to the city. The discipline squad has yet to be formed once more and so far only the first five and a couple who "escaped" are loose on the city right now. The rest are still in adjustment.

I will not bash any characters or anything crazy like that. Sorry Minaka haters but I honestly don't mind the guy. Same goes to Natsuo and Mikogami. While I don't care for them I don't dislike them.

Please review


	4. Black, Grey, and White

**Chapter 4: Black, Grey, and White**

* * *

As I was told to do before, I waited out in the front of the building for the woman in black name Karasuba to get done with that man known as Minaka Hiroki. Takami told me in detail what the man was like and most of it was negative. He does seem like one of those mad doctors' sorts that has a heart in a jar somewhere. Where it could be I can only guess. He doesn't come off as that bad of man. His coloration is quite grey with streaks of green. Calculative and all knowing, but his hands are still stained with blood much like the hands of the woman with the nice rear, Takami. I best not think of another woman around Karasuba, or maybe at all. I felt a bit of annoyance all of the sudden once I did. I swear that woman is either the domineering or possessive type. Maybe she's both of them now that I think of it. I wish her the best of luck in that regard. I can't be dominated or will allow myself to be trapped in a woman's claws. It's not in my nature.

I think I should figure out how I'm going to get a new sword for my Karasuba. I don't have a blacksmith to go to here so I'll have to look towards what I have now. I've a rich amount of weaponry I carry with me at all times just encase of emergency, but I'm unsure if any can fit her style. She's passive aggressive until excited enough to let loose. When that happens her true determination becomes much more apparent. She stopped playing with me once I started to bask in my Jäger Spirit and turned her strength against her.

Ki is not just the building of force but also the transfer of it. Storing it as she persisted with her assault wasn't easy for me in my condition, but still I succeeded. Sadly, only her sword paid the price for underestimating me. Probably would've been easier if I had succeeded in killing her with that strike. Then I wouldn't be in this position I'm in now.

Back to the weapon problem though, it's the more apparent problem I have right now. While I prefer to wield my two main darlings, Love and Hate, I do switch it around at times with the arsenal I carry with me in my knapsack. I'd use a mace one day and a sickle with chain and weight another. It all depends on my mood and the creature I happen to be hunting at the time. In the abyss I had to keep my proficiency with my weaponry sharp.

What can I fit to Karasuba? Most of the weaponry are cursed in one way or another. Some feed on blood and one feeds on the souls of the fallen. It would be for the best if I keep those in my knapsack for a very long time. Most of the weapons that I have aren't for typical use, especially for that woman. Although, I might have one I could give her in my knapsack that might fit her. It belonged to a good friend of mine who killed as many people as I have in his lifetime.

That could work.

I reached into my knapsack and pulled out the Katana I had in mind showing the many people around me, from what I could hear from some of their light whispers, a magic trick which isn't too far off. With my knapsack being magically enchanted to carry anything that fits into the hole, it's not hard to see this as magical. I took out a bow, pair of beast claws, and a pair of sai that widened a few eyes before I found the sword. The only problem I have with the enchantment is its weight. It accumulates the more I added to the space within. Unlike some magicians I can't make a separate space within that limits the weight to that of the container itself. I've wanted to but never learned.

I placed the katana in both hands and rubbed on along the darkened brown sheath. It was still warm as if it was still in my old partner's hands a second ago. This blade brought back so many memories. The master swordsman I claimed this trophy from, may he rest in piece. It's a shame that he died in such a way. Even more that he came back as a yokai thus forcing me to put him down once and for all. With his own sword as well. I think a piece of his pure spirit that was left now lingers within the metal and wood that makes up his sword. Hopefully Karasuba likes it and learns control. I feel if anyone in this city needs to learn restraint, it's her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." I looked back up towards the sliding doors of the large clock tower to the Black Swordsman that just so happened to not have a sword at the moment. I noticed once more she bore a tired expression upon her face and the smile that always seems to be there. It was full of amusement like I remember the first time we met. Her eyes are closed with the bags under them giving her a tired look that seem to disappear when she opened them for obvious reasons.

"Ara." Karasuba saw the sword in my hands and smiled. "That was fast." She walked up to me and took the Katana from my hands. I freely gave it to her and shrugged inwardly. "Nice sword, you shouldn't have," Karasuba said playfully and unsheathe the blade. That smile went away.

"Is this a reverse bladed sword?" She questioned with her tone as empty as her gaze. I suppose she doesn't like the sword even though it's much older than both of us.

"Yes," I said smoothly just so there's little chance she might not understand me. I don't wish to repeat anything if I can.

"And this is… for me?"

"Yes."

"And what am I supposed to do with this?" She tensed.

"Learn restraint for one," I put bluntly. Karasuba narrowed her eyes at me causing me to take a slight breath out. "Restraint like you showed when you didn't kill me today isn't easy. Actually, between the both of us, control was nearly impossible." Karasuba smiled at the memories that flashed through our bond. The short but sweet moment of intimacy, if you can call that primal session intimate. I'm surprised I still have my clothes in one piece. "I know you have a murderous spirit, and I don't mind this. It's something you and I have in common," I admitted. "But control and restraint are important as well."

"And you're saying I lack restraint?" She questioned to which I responded with an earnest yes. She does lack it. I can see it in her mannerisms to how she moves. If she had been given a sip of the bloodlust she'd be consumed by it with ease. She'd probably kill every able-bodied man, woman, and child on the block if set off. This is where my worry stems from.

I'm... feeling. I'm not used to feeling anything. I'm not supposed to feel anything. I'm supposed to be as empty and cold as the void. I'm allowing instinct and primal urges to control me like before. I feel that if I want to keep in control she will have to as well else. She's exciting these thoughts out of me and in time we'll be forced to kill one another. I've little desire to kill her, but I'm a Jäger before anything. It she poses a danger to myself or humanity then I'll have to silence her. The code dictates. The same goes for her race as well if theyrre like her. After I leave her I'll find out and if any of these Sekirei creatures are like Karasuba.

I will have my answer. Wouldn't be the first time my choices led to the destruction of a race. If you pick a side then make it Genocide. No one wins and everyone loses. It works out. But for now I'll just follow along with the suggestions I hear in my mind and see where they lead me.

I pointed to the blunt edge of the sword and let my finger flow across its edge. "I'm sure you can feel it, but that very blade belonged to a master swordsman and a good friend of mine that killed more mortal men than you and I," I declared proudly. With the calming spirit of water coursing through this blade I'm sure she will "calm" down eventually. Once she's calm I believe I can become stable once more. Something or someone in this place is stirring my insides and I need to make it stop and soon. This sensation in the pit of my stomach. Lost. I'm lost. No, I'm not lost but I feel lost right now and it's not originating from me. This needs to stop.

Karasuba snort in very unladylike fashion and turned the blade over in the sun. "A reverse blade hmm," she mused. "Well my ashikabi got it for me so I should give it a try," she chuckled in bemusement and sheath the sword once more. "Even though this thing is useless to me," she strained through grit teeth. She's not happy. "Because you gave it to me I won't beat you with it, seeing that it doesn't cut," she threatened in a near snarl.

I rose an eyebrow and presented my hand to her. Karasuba narrowed her eyes down at my hands then looked up to my face. "I'll demonstrate," I clarified and Karasuba rolled her eyes. Regardless of her true desires to beat me half to death with my insensitive gift she placed the sword in the palms of my hands. Most men and women never understood the true implications of a reverse bladed sword. It's not about who you cut but what you can cut. That's what I wish for her to learn: how to hold back from taking life unnecessarily? Only a monster kills for the sake of killing and I refuse to be tied to a monster.

I placed the sword on my hip though the loops of my waist holster and walked towards a large pole. A couple people ganged way as I passed them and stopped at the pole. "So you say this blade cannot cut Karasuba?"

She lifted her nose to me and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm saying it doesn't cut because the side that's supposed to cut is reversed, so yes," she clicked her tongue as she responded with obvious impatience.

I turned and faced away from the woman towards the pole and took the hilt of the sword in hand. I bent my knees and took a breath. Ki built up within the pit of my stomach growing from a small candle flame into that of an inferno. I clenched the hilt gently in my hands and relaxed my body. I was never the sort to resort to an Iai without good reason. For some monsters you have to deal the killing blow in one smooth move. It's also a requirement of what it is to be a good assassin. The best hit is the one they saw coming and could do nothing to stop it.

I looked upon the pole in front of me and imagined it was an apostle demon. Nasty monsters that were humans who forsake their humanity. I despise those that reject what they are and try to be something else. I felt my right arm heat up at the thought of killing in one single strike. I stepped forward and drew. My sword slide through metal, layer by layer, as I sailed past the pole to the opposite side of it. I stood up from my end state with the sword drawn outward in front of me and dropped my hand. I rose the sword up and slowly slid it into its sheath.

 **CLICK.**

I glanced back as the pole tilted over and fell down behind me onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians left and right moved out of the way as the pole came down in a loud crash to the side of me. I turned back to the fully opened eyes of Karasuba who know looked upon me seriously for once. I took the sword off my belt and walked back to her. "It seems to cut well enough to me Karasuba."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "How did you do that?"

I smirked and shook my head. "Restraint and control over my body as well as understanding the soul of the sword."

"That sounds ridiculous," she dismissed swiftly, but I'm not surprised. Change is slow and builds with time, and I'm a patient man with women. They change when they want to change. It seems this accomplished swordsman has much to learn. With me here she'll be cutting steel with a twitch of her finger in no time.

I rose the sword up for her to take which she did. She drew he sword once more and examined the blunt edge intensely. Not a scratch and no chips could be found with my eyes so I wager it's the same with her. Karasuba sheath the blade once more and huffed at me. "I suppose I can indulge you for the moment Ashikabi-chan," she said playfully but I caught a peculiar gleam in her eyes. She's interested and that's good enough for now.

"That is all I ask. Needlessly traveling around killing without reason but to fill a void will do nothing. It is called a void for a reason."

"Speaking from experience?"

I sighed and looked away from the woman. I'm that easy to read it seems.

Karasuba took my hand in her own and pulled me along down the street. "So how many people have you killed," she purred in my ear when she hugged my arm with her free one. "If you can cut with a blade like this one through steel then just how many have you slain?"

I thought on the answer for a moment. I've killed a lot of things and just as many people. I've hunted many monsters and even killed a dragon. I've taken down a god that held omnipotent control over the Bloodline and decapitated a Vampire Lord. To put it all into a precise number is difficult. I know it's past the thousand mark. Then I have to factor in the indirect deaths I've caused as well. While on a hunt the loss of lives from collateral damage, the death of a field of oxen caused a family to die out, burning of field of crops, and failing of economic supply flow have made an impact on the lives of many. All and all I have a decently sized body count under my name.

I thought of giving Karasuba a random number but that wouldn't be the truth. I need to give her the truth whether I wish to or not. "I've lost count," I answered earnestly. "I've instigated the deaths of many whether I personally caused it or not, so I'm not sure." I paused for a moment before another though came to mind. "But I know how much money I got for each mark I silenced in total, added to the fortune I acquired." I made sure to keep track of just how much I made with each assignment and how much I earned from my curator throughout the year. I had to make a mental note on how much a made and where to hide all.

Speaking of which, I wonder if all my gold and treasure is it in the pocket dimension I left it in. I suppose I can go and see later once I make my settlement here in the city.

"So, you're rich?" Karasuba questioned.

"Rich enough, I suppose. I don't know how much gold is worth here, but I'm sure with the amount I have I can buy a manor if I wished to." I have enough on me to purchase a manor back in the day but nowadays, who knows how much gold is worth.

"Rich, strong, sort of good looking, and fearless." Karasuba hugged me closer laying her cheek on my shoulder. I mused ever so slightly at the action. One moment she wants to kill me, the next she wants to play with me, another she wants what I can provide, and now she's acting almost intimate with me. This Sekirei Plan and "Bonding Ritural" I was told about has me confused. If the Bonding can cause a turnabout like this then just what else is it capable of doing?

"What do you think about killing the weak?" Karasuba suddenly questioned me once more. Another confusing question that I should have seen coming. Killing the weak though, that's a strange topic to bring up so matter-of-factly.

The answer came out without much hesitation on my part but this is still strange to ask me. "It's a waste of energy and time as well as possible manpower. Something I learned a long time ago is that the only reason a man is strong is because of the many weak men and woman below him that hold him up in that position. Like your MBI building thing for example. The strong man at the top didn't build it but the weak ones he controls did. So you see, killing the weak  
in my opinion makes you weak."

"Hmm," the black sekirei pondered a bit. "I see Mr. Philosophical Sage wannabe." Karasuba looked down to the reverse blade then back to the front. "You honestly believe that?" She asked dryly.

I nodded. "Most of my riches comes from weak minded men I took it from or was rewarded for an assassination here or there." It's always the same. Men and women too weak to do it themselves are the ones willing to place a price on another's life. While I find this a sad fact of life it's what helped me get to where I am now. While I didn't appreciate being sent to the world in between for so long I'm alive still regardless. Hopeful I don't die anytime so before my work is done.

"You're an assassin?"

"I'm many things as you heard before," I reminded her. I can recall Takami questioning me about my professions that I took up on my preparation time, and with Karasuba being present well. While I have a precise set of skills, being an assassin is the most frequent one. Everything else is just supplementary. "There hasn't been a being that I've fought that I couldn't kill. Not even a god."

Karasuba chuckled lightly. "You're an amusing one Ashikabi-kun."

"Is that a good thing?"

Karasuba cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes. Hers are only partially open just a crack. They don't have the red sheen from before, only the grey. "Maybe, we just have to see if it is, right?"

"I…" I averted my eyes away from hers and looked at this one shop to the right. It looked to be pretty interesting. Much more than those eyes. "I suppose."

Karasuba pulled my chin and eyes back down to her then suddenly pecked me the lips and pulled back before I could deepen it into a kiss. She pulled back, but I had an arm around her waist and squeezed until her chest mashed with mine. I leaned in to continue what she started, but Karasuba smiled and took my shoulder in hand and kept me at a distance. I pulled her in nearing her lips until her finger pushed against my own and pushed me away once more. That smile of hers never once faded away.

"You need to learn restraint as well it seems," she laughed letting her finger fall from my lips.

I let her go and slipped past her with a harsh breath out. Building up energy but letting it settle without a release is the worse form of torture. It's like your about to explode from the inside and she sees it as a joke. Maddening.

"Aw what's wrong?" She cooed. I stomped away from Karasuba's loud laughter which lessened into a chuckle by the time she caught up with me. "You're angry you couldn't get that kiss?" She teased.

"I hate being messed with without a climax Karasuba," I snarled at her and turned away.

"I'm flattered you want me so much," she sneered.

I scoffed with my arms crossed. "You know you can be a bit of a…" I shook my head and sighed again. "Doesn't matter. I guess I just detestation being played with when I know you desire me just as much as I desire you."

"Oh," Karasuba walked ahead of me and stopped me when she did. "What makes you think I want a monkey like…hmmm?"

I quiet the woman with a strong kiss to her lips inserting my tongue to taste her. I pulled back the moment she started to respond and watched her lean in to kiss me again. Her lips touched mine, but I pulled back again making her chase me. She cupped my chin then pulled my down. Like she did me before I placed my finger on her lips and pushed her away. "Now the shoe is on the other foot," I said dryly.

Karasuba frowned stepping up to me with a glare. I returned it with one just as intense. "Point proven," she admitted and turned away. I chuckled lightly and followed close behind.

"So," this time I began the line of questioning. "I heard you're part of this thing call the Discipline Squad. What is that exactly?"

Karasuba hummed again. "Who told you about that?"

"Takami." I answered.

The mention of the woman's name sent a feeling to total irritation through my mind and body. "That woman," Karasuba groaned quietly and shook her head. "The discipline squad is a team of Sekirei whose goal is to enforce that the rules of the coming Sekirei game are followed."

"The Sekirei game?" That's sounds ridiculous in every way. What manner of game is this? By the sounds of it the game hasn't even started or even in its testing phase. The coming game, that means that it will happen whether I want it to or not. I don't honestly care for the reasons of this game or its implications, but still I wonder what's it about.

"I won't bore you with the details. It's basically all sekirei in the city finding their Ashikabi and then battling against each other," she simplified.

"So, mortal combat then? Not just mortal combat but combat against those of your race?" That's strange. I haven't sensed that many of these sekirei in the city, and I don't think this game can truly bear fruit with only eight or nine. By the way Karasuba vaguely explained it there're more out there somewhere. Takami explained what sekirei are somewhat but not an in-depth explanation. I know they're not of this world and came from another one. That's the normal with new races of monster that show up every now and again anyway. The elves and fairies are proof of this.

"Yes, until there's one. Then Minaka brings up some garbage about gods and ascending to the realm of the gods, but I never bothered with his nonsense." I can't blame her this. I would've stopped listening to the man the moment he came into view.

"This discipline squad," I said a bit curious. "The number one is the leader correct?" It would only make sense if the number one of all sekirei was in charge of a squad to govern over her fellow brothers and sister sekirei. Karasuba said she's number four that means there're three ahead of her maybe as powerful or more powerful than her. That doesn't bode well with me for Karasuba is trouble enough, but to meet three others even stronger than her entices me.

Karasuba stopped suddenly at that last question now emitting what I'd identify as anger and bloodlust knitted into a blanket now covering her in its black veil. "No. Well, she was but not anymore." I could sense a story behind this but didn't dive into that ocean just yet.

"So, who's leader of this squad then? Is it you?"

"Yes, I'm the current leader of the discipline squad. Currently there's me and I think six other candidates that you'll meet soon."

"Really," I looked around but saw one building after the next. "Why do you want me to meet these few for?"

"You're my ashikabi, and I want them to understand that. Including that monkey Minaka prepared for me recently." I felt this strange sensation of fulfillment within me suddenly. It was nice.

This bond that we share is much like the Eternity Ritual in which the witch or the mages of my time used to join souls. A bond that transcends time and space. To join in mind, body, and soul is an unimaginable feeling but immensely dangerous as well. It's one thing to bond minds and bodies, is been done many times over, but adding the soul to this is staggering. A bond that fuses the mind, body, and my soul is strange. I've heard rumors of mages doing this with those they trust and wouldn't survive without true focus. As a Hunter I've avoided it. This though will be quite the experience.

"Well," I hugged my sekirei from behind and rested my chin on her shoulders. Karasuba tensed for a second but relaxed leaning back on my chest with her eyes closed. "I'm honored to have such a powerful woman choose me over some monkey in a suit," I played along with her once more.

Karasuba smiled and took my arm in hand. "As you should be. Not many monkeys deserve the privilege," Karasuba whispered in my ear more inviting than playful. "We should have a spar one day as well Otieno-kun, I would like to test this sword soon." I rose  
an eyebrow and let my hands fall from her chest but she quickly took my wrist in hand and rose it up to her cheek.

"This feeling… so strange. So unlike what I'm used to." I rubbed her cheek with my thumb and kissed her on the neck.

"Do you mean aman's touch, intimacy from a man, being held down earlier by a man, almost getting cut open a couple days ago by a man, or having someone that isn't afraid of what you can do and tell you their opinion...who happens to be a man?"

"All of the above," she chuckled before a moan escaped her lips when I kissed her neck again.

"It's your fault for being so gorgeous."

"It's your fault for being so facinating," she said back with a smirk. "It's a strange feeling, but not unpleasant." I let my arms drop and took to her side and she gestured onward so I followed.

"Tell me about your members." I said.

"Candidates," she corrected. "Currently I have a hand full of candidates to choose from to see who will fit in MY Discipline Squad." she spoke with a strange undertone. I don't need to be psychic or have this "bond" of ours to know a woman with an inferiority complex. If this is her squad and only hers then maybe she didn't like the earlier leadership she had to deal with. It made me wonder just how many Discipline Squads there were before Karasuba's. Enough to ask her.

"Huh? How many Squads before mine?" She asked.

"Yes," I affirmed. "You make it sound as if your squad is just one out of many."

"It doesn't matter," she quickly dismissed. "It's in the past."

"Is it?" I rose a single eyebrow.

Karasuba stopped forcing me to a stop as well behind her. She turned her head around to look at me with eyes full of murder. It seems this is a touchy subject. Before she could try to cut me with that sword I gave her I said, "A soul that lives in the past forsakes their future. I know its hard to accept your misfortunes and keep moving forward, but don't let those trials command your life or your actions. Let them shape you yes, but don't let them control you."

"You get that trash from fortune cookie?" She spat out at me.

"A what?"

Karasube shook her head. "Nothing. I don't need your fool words or your advice. You're my ashikabi, my meat sack, and nothing else. You'd best realize that."

"Or what?" I challenged with my eyes narrowed at her.

Karasaba reached for her sword but I was on her in a split of a second. Actually, I was moving a split second after I challenged her. She inched her sword out a bit, but I took the pommel in hand and slammed it right back in with a knife in hand. I stopped the tip right at Karasuba's heart and I mean right at her heart. Just a small push, barely even a millimeter, and I'll make a new hole in her heart she'll never get over.

Karasuba froze with her eyes opening half way. That aggressive redness they held before when she was ready to attack me faded away into the passive grey of before. That red outline she can make is sort of like what my eyes can do. The difference being us is when I use my powers my eyes completely change color, not just the outline.

I felt that she wanted to kill me, and I moved accordingly. Even though I'd prefer to kill her I feel adamant against it. Karasuba is a threat that sees everything as a waste of life and would rather see the world burn until there's nothing left. She's the sort I would've personally killed, free of charge, and by the sword with my own two hands. Instead I kissed and held her. A mistake on my part that I'm thinking of correcting here and now. Not that I see her as a threat I feel it'd be easier now.

"What are you waiting for," she questioned with her lips arching up into a smile. It wasn't one of amusement or any of the other smiles I remember seeing from before. This one is almost sad. Her eyes tell me she's in a state of shock and resolution. "The strong devour the weak. It's the law of survival so are you going to kill me or what human?"

I narrowed my eyes at the woman. Does she believe I wouldn't kill her here and now? I could end this here and now and wouldn't lose any sleep over it knowing that humanity is safe from this thing. Her family might very well follow in her footsteps as well. These sekirei are powerful, and if the wrong hands I can only imagine the collateral. It would be better to annul every inhuman being in this town. It would be like the old days when I didn't discriminate. If you weren't human you were prey and dead. I might just very well followed this mindset once more.

But... that would be wrong?

I should...shouldn't think like this?

They deserve...life like any other being?

T-They can be saved...?

I shook my head of these thoughts. I can't just exterminate a race again just because of this woman. We're tied together and killing her wouldn't be...good? I think. Despite what my rational mind said I didn't lean forward and drive my knife into her heart to kill her. Despite my better judgement I let her live for another moment.

I leaned back a bit but kept the knife in place. "I'm not a meat sack Karasuba," I worded clearly. "I'm not your play thing, your slave, or your possession. Do you understand me?"

"Sure," she whispered.

"I don't care for your game, I don't care for your disrespect, and I don't care what you think about me being human and you not. If I ask a question I don't expect you resort to hostile intent like that towards me, I expect an answer. Whether it's an actual one its up to you, but don't give me a reason to kill you when I'm not looking for one. Is that too hard to ask for?"

"Obviously not. Anything else?"

I nodded. "I would like it if you realized that you and I are bonded together. One isn't above the other in anyway. I won't treat trash and you will give me the same respect."

"Yes, ashikabi-sama," she said respectfully. So much so it made me blink and stare at her in shock. She sounded like an emotionless tool for a second but she's not like that I'm sure.

I pulled my knife out of her chest and licked the blood off the tip. I've only this knife left from my knapsack. Karasuba rubbed the small spot on her chest and let out a breath. She seemed a bit rattled. Maybe I overdid it a bit with my knife being at her heart and all. I could've killed her by accident just now, and I think she realized this. Neither she or I wish to die today, or any day for that matter, after all that happened to use both.

I placed my knife back into my coat and took her hand with my own. "Sorry," I said quietly.

"Don't be." She leaned up to me and smirked. "I don't mind if you're a bit demanding. If you were a total henpecked bitch I'd lose interest in you and kill you myself." She tapped my cheek a couple times and winked at me. "Come on," she squeezed my arm to her chest and tugged me along with her down the still city walkway past aghast pedestrians. Myself included.

* * *

I honestly expected for Karasuba to be angry with me. I expected her to be furious enough to take my own knife and stab me in the chest with it. Instead she got even closer to me than before. She was nearly all over me by this point. It's to the point that I was having trouble walking. "I'm about to trip," I stated but Karasuba gave me a frolicsome smile instead of a response. She even put her feet out on purpose to trip me. I walked over her foot just when she tried to. It seems instead of angering her my threat triggered something, and I'm paying for it with my balance.

"If you're not going to stop clutching me..."

"I prefer the term "embracing' than clutching," she interrupted me delicately. "Clutching is more appropriate for if I happened to be holding something gingerly. I'm holding you exuberantly; the Ashikabi that fascinates me still." The sudden change of vocabulary left me a bit confused. I wasn't sure what some of those words meant.

"So, there's no way I can make you stop clutch... embracing me can I?" I corrected myself.

"Nope," she beamed.

"I see," I sighed only for Karasuba to look at me with squinted eyes. "What?"

"Is this bothersome to you?"

I just about told her yes until I took note of the way she asked that and looked at me. Insecurity? I'm feeling that from her right now. The color yellow stacked with a bit of blue as well. She's worried about something and it started with that question.

"Yes and no," I mumbled. "Yes, in the way that I don't wish for you to trip me over causing me to fall on my face or into a pole. But no, because I find your warmth and your presence sort of...soothing. I like it."

Karasuba smirked and that feeling went away in an instant. And some people say I wear my heart on my shoulder. They never truly dealt with Karasuba on a physical and spiritual level. She hides behind a faint smile and her closed eyes but that can't fool me. I've been wearing a mask much longer than her.

"That's good to know."

I shook my head and dropped this subject here and now. "About what you interrupted me from saying, just how many candidates do you have?"

"About ten so. Maybe six. Maybe you can help me with choosing them."

"I suppose but do you have any that you lean more towards than the rest? I don't know your kind like you do."

"Not really. I'd cut them to ribbons if I was given the choice. I don't want any weaklings in my squad. But... one's name is Haihane Sekirei number 104. She has favor amongst her peers and I can tolerate her well enough." That's a good sign if Karasuba can tolerate her if anything. She doesn't seem the sort to tolerate anything unless they've the brute strength to prove their worth.

"That's a high number," I made note of. I honestly expected this squad to comprise of single digit members only. "You don't have another single digits or one in the low tens?"

"I have two in the low tens that are candidates, but they're annoying. Twin sisters actually and I'm help tempted try cutting off their heads and sticking them on opposite bodies to see if I can tell the difference." I arced my lips up a bit into a smirk. Cutting a couple heads off is quite relaxing once you get comfortable enough with it.

"Any others with favor?"

"Two more and both are annoyingly amusing to me." I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but I didn't interrupt her. "Both of them are… notable in their own right and quite amusing as I said." I nodded and waved for the woman to continue. "The one I found the most annoying is Sekirei number 105 Benitsubasa and will more than likely want to fight you. You've my permission to rend her asunder if she does."

"You're not worried she might kill me, a weak monkey?"

"Ha, you? A weak monkey," she sniggered with a faint shake of her head. "Even if you're a weak monkey you're **My** weak monkey. That means you're the strongest of a weak bunch." I wasn't sure if she's complimenting me or not or maybe it is one of those backhanded complements I heard so much about.

"And here we are." I looked up to a building that looked a lot like the rest, but the inside was different. It's a fairly ornate place. The pillars, the molding, and bright screens on the wall are interesting. The carving of this one statue of a naked man in the middle of the lobby left me a bit curious. It was in a fountain of all things.

"Karasuba-sama," the man at the front desk greeted in a respectful bow. "Natsuo-sama is awaiting you in his suite and…" The man noticed me standing behind her and examined me with confusion.

"He is with me," Karasuba stated. "Tell Natsuo that we're coming up."

"Yes, uh, ma'am." The man glanced over to me again but did as told.

Karasuba led me to an elevator and pressed two buttons. Looking at it we're going to the 15th floor of this place close to the top one. Once we reach the floor I followed her out to a door. Karasuba didn't even bother knocking but instead kicked the door inward and entered. I closed the door behind me that surprisingly wasn't kicked off of its hinges by her kick then locked it. The room I was in was the nicest room I've seen to date,but I don't have that many rooms to compare with in this.

I heard the sound of wood clanking against each other and noticed two girls fighting each other. I watched them for a moment until I took note of a couple other girls standing around them. This must be a sparring ring, or dojo, for the sekirei to use which happened to be right next to the  
clock tower. I can see it out the windows in fact.

"Ah," I heard to the side. "Karasuba it is good to see you again." I looked over the saw a man that was handsome for a Japanese and English mix breed man stuck in a suit and tie like most well off men I have seen in the MBI building. That way he looked at me as well was strange. I thought nothing of it. Looks are one thing, actions are another.

"This must by your friend I was told about?" The man walked over to me and rose his hand. I took it and shook it with my grip at equal strength at his. "My name is Natsuo Ichinomi, a pleasure to meet a friend of Karasuba's." The man's word are genuine and his emotions are bright not at all darkened by… No, I'm mistaken now that I'm looking within him. His heart is quite dark. I can see why this man would be chosen as Karasuba's ashikabi. Some men just want the simple things in life. Others just want to watch the world burn. This one is in a dark place right now and requires a special spell to heal fully. I could attempt to for I feel this man has a role to play and could be quite beneficial.

I returned the same smile that he used on me. "You may call me Otieno D. Jäger Mr. Ichinomi and the pleasure is also mine." The man smiled and shook my hand one last time before letting go. He sort of slid his hand against mine as well or maybe it's my imagination.

"Your Japanese is a bit strange. You must be foreign traveler to pick up three dialects I think I heard?" Natuso noted.

The fact of the matter being that I can't speak Japanese isn't an easy one. I didn't learn the conventional way like most. I took the knowledge from different minds from possible different regions in the country. That means what I'm saying might be a mixture of different slang from five different regions. I bit my lip for a moment before I responded. "You could say that Mr. Ichinomi."

"Please," he chuckled lightly. "Call me Natsuo," he offered with a smile. "And make yourself at home."

I nodded my head, "Thank you... Natsuo," I said with a mirrored smile like his.

"Any time. May I call you Otieno?"

"If you wish. I don't mind."

The man nodded slightly and moved to the way and waved his hand out invitingly. "Oh, before I forget," he turned to Karasuba. "Benitsubasa is waiting for your daily spar Karasuba."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the woman's lips. "Good. Let's go, I want to see something." Karasuba gestured for me to follow her and walked towards the sparing circle. I couple of the sekirei noticed me and eyed me with suspicion. I think I spotted the twins she was talking about even. I noticed them bickering with each other and shook my head.

"Annoying."

"I think the same thing," Karasuba said. "They are annoying."

They are but we aren't talking about the same type of annoying though. I find the fact that they are linked together annoying. I can see near perfect synchronization with their energies, but in a way that makes me a bit disappointed. I can tell that if one of them were separated for too long they'd be terribly weak compared to if they were together. They're basically a single person split into two and it shows. If I were to fight them I'd take out their eyes first. They use lightning which requires care aiming. They need an accurate lock on their target else they'd be firing lightning everywhere. Once they lose visibility I'd take out their dominate arms. From there I'd cut open the arteries on both legs once the shock hits their brains. Then I'd step behind a corner and wait. It would take maybe five minutes at most before they bleed to death. They'd more than likely fire lightning every which way during their final moments.

I turned my attention towards a few more. One has a pair of sai but was the timid sort. She wouldn't take long for me to kill. A simple parry and slash. I lost interest with most of them. Their potential isn't impressive compared to Karasuba and Uzume. I'd say four have a bit of my attention. One with pink hair, one with silver, one with black hair, and the last with brown hair.

I followed Karasuba past the sekirei with my arms seconds from crossing over my chest if I was going to stand here any longer than I was. The sound of fighting, the grunts and cries of some thrown punches and kicks, filled my ears. I could hear this now because everyone went silent in the room. All the sekirei had their eyes on me. I must be strange in their eyes. I'm still dressed as some 18th century assassin or something like that. I don't really mind the looks for now but still they've no reason to be watching me like this.

I drew my eyes to the girl making those noises and Ol' and behold the bane of the human race in the dojo practicing her punches and kicks. A teenager. A teenager that wears a kimono-like shirt with one sleeve missing for some odd reason with black shorts showing underneath, red punching gloves on her hands, and pink hair in a side ponytail with two daisy clips in her hair. She was a teenager and I've always disliked them with a passion. Especially when they're female. Girls are cute when they're young and naïve, woman can be grown up and beautiful, but teenagers are annoying and destructive. I can see why Karasuba wouldn't mind me killing her now because I'm sure despite her cute petite exterior she's a brat on the inside and cocky to boot.

I felt something tugging on my sleeved and looked to my right. A girl with black hair with purplish highlights to it in a dress tugged on my sleeve with a soft smile on her lips. "Good morning," she greeted when I had my attention on her. She stepped back and did a polite curtsy. "I'm Oriha, sekirei number 101. It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

I returned her curtsy with a bow of my own. "You may call me Otieno D. Jäger Ms. Oriha. The pleasure is mine as well."

"Happy to hear it. So, why are you here?" She questioned suddenly. "I don't mean to be rude, but I've never seen you before."

I looked at Karasuba and she just rose her chin to mess if giving me her permission to converse with her. I clicked my tongue and faced back to the shorter being. "I'm here to spectate."

"But you came here with Karasuba-sama Mr. Jaeger, did I say that right?" I nodded. "You're here for more than that right?"

"I might be but if you wish to know more you need to ask Karasuba, that is if you can. I know you won't." I almost smirked at the look of shock she gave me. "So next time you wish to blatantly question someone after the simple pleasantries then learn a bit more tact. You never know that the man you're questioning might just take action and Fix that curiosity of yours little girl."

The sekirei clenched her hands at them. "Stupid monkey," she growled and rose her skirt suddenly. Blades, spinning blades flew out from under her dress. The girl stopped though. The blades swirled around me and her and the other sekirei around us backed away. Oriha froze in place while my knife rested in her neck. Not in the way that it can kill her but with where my knife is just one twitch could split open her jugular.

"Tact, little girl," I reminded calmly as blood slowly oozed down the blade of my knife from where I stabbed into her neck. "If you project your intent to attack or kill me like that to the wrong person it might provoke that wrong person to... well," I gestured to the knife that was currently resting in her neck. The girl tried to speak but I wagged my finger a bit and shook my head. "If you move even a centimeter you'll cause this really sharp knife to cut open your jugular. The one the circulates the blood from your brain as well"

The girl's eyes widened in fear.

"You're afraid of dying," I noted. "You should be afraid of bleeding to death instead. Have you ever bled to death before? I have." I remember the feeling that came from losing too much blood. "First your heart rate increases thus enhancing the rate of blood loss. Then you'll begin to feel restless and confused. Your mind will wander, and you'll begin to see things. You'll have nightmares while your awake amidst the shock. Then you'll begin to feel your consciousness fade. No matter what you do your eyes will get heavier and heavier and more difficult to keep up." I leaned into the girl and turned my eyes to the other ones that looked ready to pale and run away from me. "You'll get cold. So cold that its like you dropped into the Arctic itself. Slowly but surely you'll fade away into nothingness."

"Hmmmmm!" The girl cried and looked ready and faint. I think the only thing keeping her on the shaky legs she's on right now is because she doesn't want to die like that. I'd never wish to die like that.

"Since we have an understanding it's best not to result to vehement intent just because I spoke the truth. Blink twice if you understand please," I spoke as coolly as I started.

The girl blinked twice in front of me. Satisfied with this I pulled my hand back and took my knife with it. I licked the blood of the edge and spat it out to the side. Karasuba tastes sweeter than this girl. The girl held her neck and fell over on her rear with equal measures of fear and shock in her eyes. I love that look so it made up to the sour blood I've tasted from her.

I caught one of those spinning blades from out the air when they all started to fall and examined it a bit. She controlled them without use of strings, wire, or cable. She must have used her mind to take control over them and her control was mediocre at best. I've seen a man who was able to control twenty swords at once at the max range of three meters. He nearly killed me with them and I nearly killed him with my crossbow.

I tossed the blade back at her feet. "You can have that back." I don't like to steal from the needy.

I turned my attention to the other sekirei around the room and stopped on the pink haired girl. She was still training as if nothing happened. That's dedication.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the twins asked. I drew my eyes to them both and they flinched. I heard Karasuba chuckle behind me. Someone's enjoying the show. Her and another young woman is watching me closely from her spot on a wall. She was leaning on a wall and staring at me.

"I'm not impressed with your current crowd Karasuba," I stated.

"But I'm impressed with you. You didn't kill her when you stabbed her in the neck," she noted when 101 stood back up with her neck barely bleeding under her fingers. "You should show me how you did that."

"Maybe later," I muttered. I turned my attention back to the pink haired girl. The girl stopped her punch kick combo in mid kick spinning into a complete circle and landed in a crouch. "Not bad," I admitted with my arms now officially crossed.

"Not bad," the teen scoff, "More like great you stupid monkey," she scoffed.

My arms are no longer crossed, and I have an itchy sword hand now. Karasuba had a gleam in her eye and gestured for me to take care of this. "More like mediocre." I walked up to the girl letting the straps on my chest loosen so my swords could fall off me. The Sekirei here moved out of the way allowing us an unrestricted view of each other.

"The fuck you say," she resorted to profanity now.

"I said you can't fight, you're slow, and you're ignorant," I listed off.

"Ah Otieno-kun I don't…" Natsuo didn't get far. Karasuba took the man by his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Let him work," she whispered with anticipation. A reddening began to rise up her cheeks as I took to the mat. "I want to see more."

"Who the hell are you other than dead asshole?"

Obviously, she didn't notice what happened to Oriha. I took a breath and smiled faintly at the girl. "Come and find out you stupid. Little. Girl," I dragged out each word with plenty of emphasis.

The teenager roared and jumped after me. She rose her fist up and I rose my hand up. With a sly of hand, she flowed past me towards the mat. The girl rolled to her feet and rose her arms up to me to block a kick from me. Too bad I've Ki flowing through my leg all the way to the tip of my foot and impacted with the bone in her left forearm. The girl roared as I broke her block and sent her back in a skid a couple meters away. The girl climbed up to her feet with her arm in hand and eyes wide. This going to be a learning experience.

* * *

To say that it was a slaughter would be putting it lightly. I usually don't like to beat up on girls, but this isn't a girl but a teenager and a brat on top of that. Some form of chastening is required to make her humble. Something I can do being human and all. The girl ended up on her back, groaning and moaning with me standing above her arms crossed. This fight didn't last long. I believe Karasuba clocked me at three minutes and 17 seconds

"Wow," the silver haired girl said from her spot on the wall watching with her only bang up over her eye to see this unfold.

I have to admit this girl wasn't bad, but there's much room for improvement. I see over twenty openings in her guard and she gives me her limbs too easily. Example being is the ankle I caught at my shoulder then slammed a fist into her knee forcing that leg to fall over. The moment she fell her leg buckled and I kneed her in the stomach forcing her down to her knees.

Her anger and arrogance were her undoing. She felt angry enough to turn into a feral animal and ended up almost losing her shoulder in a nice snap dislocating it. The girl's screams where music to the ear as she fell to her knees, sucking air, and clenching that shoulder of hers. I frowned which became visual as I pulled my mask down when it was all said and done. I found out during the bout that this girl happens to be Benitsubasa and has a lot of potential.

"You're not bad but you lack experience and finesse. Putting all that power in a punch with limited control is a double-edged sword. It can be used against you as you saw." I walked around the teen and stopped at her back. "You've a dozen and you paid for them. You should adapt to whoever you're fighting not charge in like a Spanish bull to the matador. The spear is all that's awaiting you," I instructed nonchalantly.

"F-fuck you."

I narrowed my eyes and walked over to the girl and snapped her shoulder back in place.

"Ahhhhh!"

"That attitude made me break you as well. Fix that or next time I'll kill you." I walked away from the girl.

"Who the hell are you?" Benitsubasa yelled at me.

"My," Karasuba sounded, "My ashikabi." Karasuba helped me set the Black Blade on my back and stepped back.

"W-what!?" Benitsubasa looked back to me then to my sekirei with wide eyes.

"Wow," the silver haired girl said again.

"Holy...shit," the sekirei with pair of sai gawked.

"That explains it," a dull sounding sekirei that was sparring earlier sighed.

"By the goddess," one of the lightning sisters gasped

"Holy hell sis he's crazy like her!" the other lightning sister exclaimed.

I shrugged. "I came by to see the candidates for the Discipline squad and what the "Annoying one" as Karasuba told me about was all about. I'm not too impressed, but I think I know who would fit in this squad well enough."

"Who?" one with the pair of sai asked hopefully.

I pointed to Benitsubasa first. I pointed out the Sai user next. Then I past the other sekirei and approached the silver haired one. The one who has a slender frame compared to the other sekirei I have seen like Angel but a fuller in certain places compared to Karasuba. Her body is bandage-wrapped starting from the neck down that happened have a black choker on it. Like the rest of the girl's here, other than Oriha, she wore a black kimono but it was tattered. She wore her grey disheveled, as single bang covers her right eye from the front, and from what I can see has narrow eyes. All together she has quite the wicked and intimidating in appearance combined with that pair of barbed-tipped clawed gauntlets she wore. I liked the way she looked and couldn't help but stare even though I know it is rude. I wondered just what was under those bandages of hers that she wore.

"Your curious about my body are you not?" I nodded without bothering hiding my interest. The sekirei smiled ominously lifting a gauntleted hand over her mouth snorting to cover a laugh. "My appearance doesn't put you off?" I shook my head this time and again that smile grew then faded to a more leveled expression like before. "That's nice to hear for once. I can see how Karasuba could like you at all."

The girl pushed off the wall with her arms dangling at her sides. "My name is Haihane Sekirei number 104. It's not every day I see a human best a sekirei," Haihane's eyes wandered  
towards Oriha. "Two of them at that. You're pretty ruthless for a human."

"Most humans are not me."

"Must be what drew you to her and her to you. The way you fight, talk, and even act is much like how Karasuba-sama does, just without the sword. Nice swords by the way," she complimented Hate and Love. Love shivered when she was given some attention by Hate didn't seem to care all that much either way. Still, I like that she took notice of my associates.

"Nice claws," I said back and she hummed with a ghostly smile. I can picture this girl as highly proficient assassin if given the right training. She could blend in and by the looks of it can move as well. I'm sure her fighting style is focused on swift movements with a firm level of unpredictability.

"You're cool," she responded back which I believe is a compliment. I haven't been given that many of those.

"You're superb," I decided to compliment right back.

"I like you," the young woman said with a faint redden in her cheeks starring a hole into me. This time I was left a bit speechless. I looked around and noticed everyone else is looking at me with cautious glares. Everyone except Karasuba who looked ready to jump me right here and now. She's holding back from attacking me though just to see how this plays out. Haihane reminded me of Beatrice just with the pale skin instead of tanned brown, silver hair instead of black, but an alike stoic expression on their face until they're extremely amused. It's... cute.

"Not surprising, I've a habit to attract the more rational ones." Haihane snickered peering over the annoying one that was picking herself up slowly biting back the pain. I looked back and found a good number of bruises on her face, on her legs along the sides, on her wrists, a couple on her neck, pretty much where there is skin there is a mark on it from my version of chastening.

"So, you think only those three will do?" Karasuba asked me as she came up to me. Benitsubasa and Haihane with the right training. Benitsubasa's strength is stifling. Like an ogre and a banshee forced into the body of a girl because if her strength doesn't kill you, her screeching voice might. I looked at one last sekirei without a weapon next and gestured to her last. "Hmm, I'll take you're word for it," she said with glee. "Everyone else out! Now!"

"B-but..."

"That's not fair!"

"You're letting that human decide!? After all the beatings my sister and I took!"

Karasuba turned her attention to the other sekirei and rose up her sword then glanced my way and said, "Restraint, right?"

I nodded.

I waved at Haihane to follow me and walked towards Benitsubasa and picked her up.

"Ahh, let me go! Don't touch me with your filthy hands!"

I squeezed her sides and made her scream again. "You coming Natsuo?"

The man blinked and nodded a moment later. "Right behind you."

With that I walked away with Haihane leading me to the nearest restroom with a bench in it thankfully. We left Karasuba with the rejects. The sekirei that I said couldn't make the cut. The one's she's more than likely going to beat to death if the grunts and screams I'm hearing right now mean anything. When I sat the pink hair sekirei down she let out a cry from the soreness and groaned.

"Just… who the hell are you?" Benitsubasa asked with a spark in her eyes. "Where did you learn to fight like that and against a sekirei? How can a human fight against a sekirei?"

I handed her a warm towel. "Haihane, can you get..." I looked down on at her claws and winced. "Actually, can you get a bag of ice for her Natsuo?"

Benitsubasa turned her eyes up to the man and looked at him hopefully. I looked between the two of them. I channeled Od into my eyes and looked between the two of them once more. I saw some manner of tether between the two of them. I can't believe the bond between the two of them is actually physical in a spiritual sense. So much so that I can see it. I looked down to my body and saw the same that led into the center of my body. This and... another? I can see one that's bright and shines with a greyish hue. The other is transparent and a bit difficult to see or make out. It appears to be white though.

I followed the greyish one and it led to the woman standing behind me. That Haihane girl of all people.

"Sure," Natsu said blankly.

"Thank you Natsuo-kun. I love you for this," Benitsubasa spoke with the sort of endearment a love-struck girl who can't control her emotions would. Natsuo wore a fake smile and left, but not before flashing me a watered down look akin to Benitsubasa's. I watched the man walk away and she glanced back and met his eyes with mine before leaving out the door.

"Careful," Haihane heckled. "He's gay."

"He's what? What does that mean?" I don't think I've ever heard that term before. It sounds strange.

"Fruity? A fairy? Queer? Homo? Any of those ring a bell?"

I shook my head.

"He prefers the company of men over women," she clarified, and my eyes widened. Her smile grew as my realization followed. "And he was coming on to you. I think wants to do the nudge nudge with you," she crackled darkly.

"That's not going to happen," I stated for sure.

"Damn right because he's not gay. Just you wait, my womanly charms will win him over and bring him to the light." Benitsubasa declared loudly. Haihane snickered at her friend.

"I think you'll succeed as long as your determined," I said.

The two of them looked towards me in shock.

"What?" Beni gawked at me.

"Men like him are broken and require a constant stream of attention as they mold back together. If you keep it up then one day, though I'm not sure when that day will come, all your hard work will pay off. I promise."

"Y-you really think so?"

I didn't answer her. Instead I answered another question. "Practice," I said answering a few of her unspoken and probably forgotten questions. "I have fair experience against overwhelming odds whether by numbers or raw strength." I brought up the other topic before. I best get away from that last topic less these honeyed words make me sick to my stomach.

Pinky scoffed but she didn't feel as hostile towards me as before. "Against what, a monster or something?"

"Or something," I said cryptically. I leaned over the saw her rubbing a spot on her neck and noticed a little blood seeping from a cut. "You're bleeding." I reached into my knapsack and pulled a jar of puck dust salve and opened it.

"What's that," Haihane asked earnestly curious of the jar of green stuff I had in hand.

"I don't care what it is," Benitsubasa cried leaning back away from me.

"Fight I'll knock you over. Try to run and I'll catch you," I warned her.

"You should stay put Beni. He did beat you, hands down."

"Shut up Haihane!" I ignored the teenager's ranting and applied a little bit of the salve to the sides of her legs and back. Beni grunted. "Ah! Damn it!"

"Stay still," I ordered and the girl just stared at me. She finally got a good look under my hood to the eyes that regarded her as nothing but a pain right now. Eyes much like Karasuba's or so I could read in her eyes myself.

"F-fine." The girl picked herself up to her feet.

"Turn around." Hesitantly, she did as she was told. I reached into the jar and pulled the cool healing salve out. I sat the jar down and took the back of her neck in both hands. I usually had to massage this stuff into Kuu's shoulders because her large breasts killed her shoulders all the time. Or on the wrists of Bethany whenever she used magic to help connect with the inner spirits during training. Much like in those moments I started to massage Beni's surprisingly soft skin. She tensed at the feeling then relaxed.

"Ah," Beni moaned faintly as my hand rolled over her neck and top of her shoulders. This dust works wonders on wounds and the cut on her neck was already gone same with the bruises around her neck as well. I'm surprised I still have any of this left let along a full jar. Makes me wonder why I haven't used it lately then I remembered that fairies more than likely no longer exist in this plane of existence anymore.

The fairies and elves have started leaving the 'human' world behind after years of neglect and pillaging of their homes. My ancestor was happy enough to help them leave to the world adjacent to this one and showed them the way. A world of what belonged to the darkest of creatures and their gods was purged by him. It's now the land of Elves. One that they deserve more than anything. One that he, I, owed them after what I did to them. I found it a shame that I couldn't see Chloe anymore or the dark elf Queen Origa. I miss them so much and wonder if they lived long fulfilling lives after that final fight. I know Bethany is still alive though. I wonder if she decided to try and find me. I'll never know.

I sighed and stepped back from the much shorter being and picked up my jar. Beni made a frustrated groan when I stopped and looked back to me with a look that said 'I want more'. "Rest for a couple days and you'll be fine." I picked up my jar and replaced it to my knapsack where it belongs.

"I didn't know you had already acquired an ashikabi Karasuba. When did this happen?"

I turned my attention to outside the door. "Ah, you know at a time in a certain place," Karasuba answered with a ghost of a smile on her lips. One I saw when I saw the two of them walk in. I noticed Karasuba had a bit of red on her collar.

"With a lot of skin exposed and touching," I finished with a small grin of my own.

"But it was missing something crucial though."

"Then maybe we'll make up later then," I suggested and Karasuba shrugged. "Anyway, I best get going." I picked up my knapsack and placed it over my head on my shoulder.

"Leaving already? You're welcomed stay a little longer Otieno," Natsuo offered, but I quickly declined.

"While I wouldn't mind taking advantage of your hospitality Natsuo, I have work to do."

"What work?" Karasuba glared at me. "What do you have that's important enough for you to leave all of the sudden?"

"I'm going to go and study the other ones of your race to see whether or not I should exterminate your kind," I responded earnestly.

My answer drew silence.

"Ah, then you can leave. If you see a woman with purple eyes and a bit of massive tool please kill her first. You'd be doing me a favor," the blood thirsty woman smiled at me. Then she walked up and wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled me down a bit. I met her in a kiss and wrapped my arm around her back. Karasuba moaned as her wings spread out behind her symbolizing pillars more than wings. She licked my lips and kissed my forehead. I returned the gestured and took her lips one last time.

Karasuba smiled as we separated. "Do me that one favor if you can. And if you do decide to kill us all then let me know. I'll help you and then we can turn to humanity next." I was about to speak up until she kissed my lips again. "Its only fair that we commit genocide on all not just one race in this world."

I blinked. "Okay?" I didn't expect that. Maybe she doesn't believe me. I suppose I can only wait and see after I act.

Karasuba released me and moved out of my way. "I'll be in touch with your application in hand later."

Unsure of what she was talking about I walked to the door and stopped when I felt something. "Do you wish to ask me something?"

"No, not really," Karasuba answered.

"Not you," I turned my attention to Haihane. The only one in the room without a tether. "You."

"I... Would you like to be my ashikabi as well?" She shrugged. I blinked again and looked away from the woman. Not a girl but more a woman with the way she looked at me. Even Karasuba seemed to be affected by this confession of her's. "But if you don't want me I can..."

"I do desire you Haihane," I said quickly. I knew she and I had a connection. I could feel it growing the longer she remained near me. I can feel it now bearing down on my soul. "But, I can't answer that question yet. If you can give me a few days, I'll answer it."

"I'll be waiting Otieno-kun," her ghostly smile returned.

* * *

I left out the way I came out the building and made my way towards my first target sekirei. This one is the white one. Before I did anything, I had to investigate her first.

I had it in my right mind to jump the roof tops using concentrations of Ki to lift myself up to cross over from building to building. The roofs of this city are so close together that I could jump from one to the next without too much effort. It was all connected in one way or another. I made one mistake though. I zoned out into misstep at the edge of one roof and slipped.

I fell back toward the people down below, but I was able to use the momentum to tuck my legs in and put my back to the sky at least. I suddenly hit a pole in the middle of the building. I took hold and whirled around it before dropping down at a safe speed. One person must've seen me drop and so tried to catch me. In the end we both took a tumble down into the stone ground but last minute I twisted enough so I landed on my feet instead. With the combined weight and momentum though we both fell to the ground but with whoever attempted to catch me landing on top of me. I fell onto my back hard and gasped still feeling the pain on my back from that woman. Karasuba really has a strong grip and shape nails to dig into my stone skin like she did. I've been ignoring it so not to show any weakness in front of any of them but still, by the gods this hurts. It's like a thousand needles are picking at my back right now.

I took a breath before examining the one on top of me to see if they're alright. From what I saw she indeed was. I leaned up as best I could as people gathered around me to check on the two of us. The girl moaned and rubbed her head even though she didn't land on it. She landed on me.

"Sorry." I stood us both up and made sure to support the women that was familiar, beautiful and inhuman. She's the one I was looking for.

"Ah te te te that hurt. You hit nature's air bags ya know. Ain't you a lucky one?" Almost instantly I started to get a good feeling from the woman. Her aura is bright like her expression. I dare say she the opposite of Karasuba which is a good sign. Not all the apples are rotten, maybe.

"Indeed," I sniggered and slowly got into character. It's not too difficult to read a person's aura to figure out what manner of personality they respond the easiest towards. Karasuba prefers someone who's passive agressive actions, projects ruthless intent with a stoic and uncaring mentality, and can back up their intent as well. She seems to despise anyone posing as something they are not.

With my current mask on the women chuckled as well with a "hehe heh" which reminded me of Kuu. If this women had black hair, slightly smaller breasts, and was an inch taller I would've thought Kuu followed me to this time.

"Thank you for cushioning my fall," I joked with an easygoing smile much like her aura.

"Thank you for not falling on me." She returned in the same manner I did. I'm starting to like this woman.

"You may call me Otieno D. Jäger," I greeted with a respectful bow of my head. "May I know yours miss?" I extended my hand and without hesitation the saucy smiling girl took it and shook.

"Names Uzume Mr. Assassin's Creed. We've met before."

My eyes widened at the mention of the name as the woman smiled gently at me. "The angel from before?"

She nodded with her blush coming back with a vengeance. I nodded and kiss her hand like I use to for Kuu, but only because I owed her and that was what she wanted. She knew I was one that hated to be ordered to do anything and hated it when someone tried to exert their dominance on me. And so she did just that to get to me. She read that the British did that kissing the hand thing to show there respect towards a lady. That in the man's mind they're fair and noble and Kuu was anything but fair or noble. She never cared about anything at all other than her desire to put me down a step or two and only succeed in instigating me to take her down. That was a fun bout.

Uzume looked around to the crowd that watched with awe. Uzume giggled at the gestured and pulled me back up. "I'm happy to see you out and about. I thought you would've been out for longer."

"I heal fast, and thanks to you and Chiho I had the opportunity to."

"You met Chiho?"

I gestured to the direction away from the staring Japanese people around us and left with Uzume right behind me. "I met her and decided to visit her as much as I can and tell her stories of my misspent young." I looked up to the sky, "I saw the light in her heart and I'm willing to do anything to see that it isn't extinguished."

Uzume frowned and looked away. "There isn't much they're willing to do. They said they don't have the means to cure her of her illness."

I scoffed. "I never listened to doctors before and their tripe about potions and leeches. I'm sure those doctors are just saying that because they want something."

"Like what," she asked genuinely curious.

"Chiho is a magnet for those with a loving or honorable heart like you and like me to come by seeking to help her. The right person can use that against you and force you under their service after all "Desperation attracts vultures'."

"You sound a bit scary now," she remarked upon. "And like you know from experience."

I stopped. I stopped so abruptly it surprised Uzume enough to run into me.

"Ow." She rubbed her nose and looked at me, but I could only continue to look down to the ground.

"Yes… you could say that."

Before Uzume could divulge more into the subject I walked away with my search for a bank in mind. Takami recommended one to me that isn't connected to MBI in the slightest. I'm weary of the woman and wonder if I should really trust her, but I don't see a reason not to. I made it known that I don't mind killing her for crossing me. It'd take me a couple minutes as most to do it.

I looked back to Uzume and found her staring at me. When I caught her she turned away and backed away laughing nervously red in the face.

"Angel," I called her attention back to me. "For what you did for me I give you my thanks."

"Nononono isn't no problem. I couldn't just leave you there heh heh eh," she chuckled strangely.

I bowed my head once more and said, "Then I must take my leave."

Uzume stutter stepped for a second, but I caught her before her face could become familiar with the ground. I pulled her back and examined the woman in front of me more closely. Something is off about her. Uzume was walking with a certain sway that caught my eye. It was like she was teasing me. I don't mind too much. Not many beautiful women have shown that sort of interest into me unless they wanted something. What I found strange is the fact that her own energies began to branch out.

Most Od, or spirit energy, cannot do anything but linger without a conduit to hold it, that being the original or an attractor in which energy is being directed into. That attractor was me. I could feel now that our boundaries were becoming miniscule. I could feel her Od, chi, and ki with every breath reaching out towards me. It's slowly entering my body and the same for her. Like a magnet, I'm the positive and her the negative in this cycle of attraction.

It was then these notes extended out to something physical instead of mental. I could smell the pheromones coming off of her body flowing around me They enticed the beast inside of me. The beast that all men have inside themselves. I could see that her body was shivering from something. When I looked into my eyes I noticed this familiar sense of wanting in them. This wanting is directed towards me. I get that she saved me and all, but why would she feel this way for me?

I nearly slapped myself for now just realizing it. Uzume is a sekirei. One that utilizes a sort of cloth based weapon of silk strands, maybe. One that wears a veil over her face which I liked to see after all I wear a hood myself.

A cloth sekirei? No.

A silk sekirei? No.

A sexy sekirei? Yes, but that can't do.

A veil sekirei? That sounds good enough. As sekirei she's searching for a partner with a desire to emerge much like Karasuba did with me. Haihane is also reacting to me but that was only after being in her presence which is strange. I can feel right the tether of a person I haven't even met yet as well. Someone strong and unmovable. I can't wait to meet them.

Unfortunately for Uzume, I can't make her emerge right now. I still haven't made my judgement on this race yet, but I'm gathering good information later for my decision. Uzume is turning this into a positive and Karasuba has her lighter parts. Still I need to investigate further.

Studying this reaction of Uzume's I could tell by the slight tremble of her legs her body was seconds from giving out. Ignoring the presence within my mind I took my analyzing seriously. If what happened to Karasuba means anything then maybe if I distance myself and lengthen the cycle of winging (I will call it for now) then she'll have to either follow or reject her nature. Karasuba could but sadly I turned out to be the weaker one. Once I accepted her she jumped on the chance to gain her wings. Uzume most likely won't jump me and replay what happened between Karasuba and I. She'd rather meet me halfway like Karasuba did. I need to test this emergence and how it affects me and the sekirei as well.

"Hey," Uzume reached out to take my shoulder when I turned to leave but pulled herself back trying to get a grip. "Y-You can't just land on a girl, flirt with her, then l-leave. C-come on." I looked back to her and to the way she looked at me.

I shook my head and said, "I know what you are Uzume."

Her eyes widened but quickly she took on an innocent grin. "What do you mean? What am I?"

"A sekirei." My answer made her chuckle nervously and wipe the back of her head.

"Well, there goes that surprise. If you know what that is then who are you really?" She turned serious and developed an impressive glare. "No one knows about the Sekirei so how do you?" I didn't turn around but instead I turned my head to see still flushed cheeks but a fire in her eyes that contradicted this. She was ready and willing to defend herself against me if need be. I can approve of this. Just because she's possibly "reacting" to me doesn't mean she's not above defending herself. I pondered on whether or not to take the initiative and attack her just to see where she is. I didn't for I'm here for information not a fight, for now.

"The first sekirei I met is one named Karasuba," I answered.

Uzume's eyes widened slightly again but turned normal again when she digested what she just heard. This seems to what answered everything for her. It even drew her to relax before me with a hefty sigh. "So that's why you were… like that?"

"Partially. I ran from her at first but that didn't work. I faced her directly and was injured as you saw before. It was a good crash course to see what a sekirei is. You're not human that much I can tell Angel."

Uzume blushed slightly from the nickname I stuck with but swallowed it to stay focused on me. Well, certain parts of me, like my lips for instance. Her eyes followed the steady sway of my own body that I have a habit of doing after too long without focus. I can't stay still for long but I blame the life of constantly moving and wandering for that. Even when I had an assassination contract I took full advantage of my station then left for the next place. Staying in one place for too long has never recommended, but I've a feeling that'll to change while I'm here in this city.

I saw Uzume suddenly glared as the ground and clenched her fists with a close to scowl on her face. "This sucks!" I watched her as she trembled from what feels like rage. Her glare lifted up towards me and she looked ready to jump me at any moment but not to emerge. She was angry maybe at the fact that I am causing this in her.

"What's wrong? Did I do something? If so forgive me." Uzume continued to stare at me but then relaxed her glare but not her fists.

"No, you haven't done anything. You've been nice and straight with me, something most men I've met seem to lack. I can also tell that you have a head on top of your shoulders." She stopped and smirked. "As well as between your legs."

My eyes widened faintly at this. I was unconscious during my time in the void and Beyond, and Uzume and Chiho both had to dress by wounds. The ones on my leg include this and a cut my crotch area. It only makes sense that most likely both of them saw just what I have to offer below the belt. What she saw must have either impressed her or made her laugh and I pray it's the former.

"Before, I was reacting to Chiho, but it's nothing compared to what I feel for you and it pisses me off."

"What do you mean?" She was reacting to the girl from before? If so why didn't she kiss the girl yet?

"I feel like I'm betraying her, but I find a piece of me not caring and that piece is growing."

So she's self-aware. If this is true what's stopping her from doing it in the first place when she had so many chances to do it? I thought about it then a question came to mind. "How long have you know Chiho?" The question surprised Uzume to say the least. She wasn't expecting it but bounced back with a long sigh and waved at me in a "come" sort of gesture. Before I could ask she turned around and started walking to somewhere. In order for me to get my answer all I could do was follow close behind of her with my eyes on up the best I could manage out of respect for her. I'm failing.

Why am I reacting this way? I should be able to control myself better than this. I've gone a solid 14 years after my 18th birthday without feeling anything pertaining to lust or beastly urges around women. I've gone without any sense of arousal for even longer than that but it feels like any boundaries I created was being cracked by something. It could probably be the cycle of winging that's slowly eating away at my walls. If so this might be an easy fix. I only have to concentrate on the flow that alters me like this and examine it as it passes through my body to see just where it's altering me.

I closed my eyes ignoring everything around me but still keeping a close pace behind Uzume as she led me to somewhere. Just from the tether between us I can see my Chi flowing into her and vise verse. Her Od was slowly changing to accommodate with my own adapting her body to become more… compatible with my own. I can't get a comprehensive look into this yet. I need food and another day of rest before I could go full force in my sensory abilities.

The feeling of becoming one like this is strange. The molding of each other's desires into one. The sensation brought by combining senses and even our own Ki into one. Locking on this development I took hold of the shifting energy and applied a wall between it. My spirit was shielded behind and my body was encased in a shell. Slowly, the stream stilled. Once I did this my eyes wandered towards Uzume bottom to top. This wasn't involuntarily, and I felt little change to my control. This is good. I don't like being manipulated so that is a mark on the annulment side for the sekirei in my opinion.

They're super human with strength that could rival a vampire's and speed that could surprise a werewolf. Still not a wyvern though which is good I would hate to meet one as… unpredictable as one of those damn things. I wonder if I still have the scar on my stomach from that barbed tail it had. I don't think so. I never knew poison could hurt so much for so long.

Uzume stopped and sat down on a chair outside a restaurant of sorts that must allow loitering. She looked at the spot next to her and I took it being within arm's reach of her and no closer but no farther as well. She rested her chin on her hand with a long sighed and looked back at me. "I met Chiho around two weeks ago. I was on my way to where I live when I saw her." Uzume smiled, "I thought she was cute so I went to go say hi. I felt a beat in my heart for her but I didn't know if it was because of how cute I thought she is or how…" Uzume wrapped her mind around the next part but I could already tell what she wanted to say.

"Pure her heart is." I answered.

Uzume nodded and continued. "I started to visit her after that. She explained to me her situation and I felt the need to comfort her. As two weeks rolled by I felt that beat grow more and more when I was near her and concluded that I had to be reacting."

"When did you tell her about you being more than your above average woman?"

"I didn't at the time." I looked at her as she averted her eyes from me turning her head left to the street and ongoing traffic. "She likes to go to the roof a lot and one day I was sitting there by myself relaxing looking out the city that was about to become a war zone without much care in the world. Hehehe," she chuckled, "she saw me hanging on the edge with this look and jumped to conclusions like the sweet girl that she is."

"I see."

"Do you really?" She looked back to me to which I shook my head and gestured for her to continue.

"She tackled me, and I lost my balance. We fell over and I used my abilities to save her. After that I explained to her what I was and she accepted it with a smile. One of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen too. I love her with the bottom of my heart and looked after her for as long as I could without arising suspicion."

"Then why haven't you emerged?"

Uzume clenched her fists with her eyes losing some of its light. "I was on my way to do it not too long ago until I came upon you." She looked back to me. "A man that I didn't even know or heard about. A man that was dying from wounds I couldn't even imagine on how he got. A man that called me a-a goddess," she blushed and sighed, "And even now you still call me something that I could never think of myself as. An angel."

Uzume blinked and when her lids opened I noticed a shift. Her eyes are glistening. "The moment I looked into your eyes when you dropped your hood I saw a man that has suffered more than any one man should suffer but pushed through it. I saw a man that was kind and appreciative of the life he had and the life of others. I talked to Chiho and she told me even more about you that had me interested to find out more."

She chuckled with her hand over her forehead shadowing her eyes. "I asked myself why I felt this way about you. For the last couple days, you've been out I visited you to check up on you. Slowing but surely, I started falling for you. Maybe it's that stupid nurse falling for the patient thing. I don't know, but it's killing me."

"Nurse and patient thing?"

Uzume shook her head. "It's nothing just something from a show I saw."

"A what?" Uzume let her hand fall to study me to see if I was serious.

"You don't know with a show is or something?"

"I can imagine." I know of the shows like plays and other things, but I can't imagine something like that existing in a world like this. I looked up to the setting sun. It was starting to get late so around midafternoon.

"Need to go somewhere?" She asked, taking notice of my wandering attention to the sky and sun. It's not hard to put two and two together.

I nodded. "I have a couple things I have to look into as well." Slowly I took to my feet and pushed in my chair with Uzume following my every move with her chocolate colored eyes. Eyes close to the same color as mine but a shade lighter than mine.

"You asked me about my emergence." Uzume said right as I was about to say something. She looked straight into me and then looked at the chair. Slowly without any reluctance I took my seat again as Uzume hummed in approval. "Why did I put my own emergence on hold for you? Why in the couple minutes you praise me as an angel that I felt more for you than in the weeks I've known Chiho? Then it hit me." Uzume let her hand drop from her eyes to the bridge of her nose covering all but that piercing glare.

"I was reacting to you more strongly within one minute than I was Chiho for all that time. I felt the need to take care of you, hug you, and tell you that it'll be alright and it pissed me off!" Uzume slammed her hand into the table making the people passing us by jump and walk faster away.

'Talk about a broken relationship.' I thought to myself.

"I love Chiho and what she is, but I love you as well and know nothing about you! Why the fuck is that!?" Uzume growled in a low tone before bringing her hand back up to her eyes. "I can barely look at you without having the urge to kiss you. It burns so much," she cried.

"My body is on fire and it burns into my very core," she sobbed. "I want you but I also want Chiho but my reaction to her and mine to you is like trying to pit a lighter against a volcano." Her free hand laid down limp on the table with her eyes still covered. "I-it's so hot," I gulped at the way she said or moaned it. It put a blush on some of the surrounding Japanese people's face and I couldn't blame them.

"But it also feels… so good." Uzume dropped her hand and looked at me. The look in her eyes almost broke me. They looked so fragile and brittle like with the slightest tap she could crack into thousands of pieces. The need for release from her predicament was so staggering that I could barely keep myself from taking action.

"Would you even want a sekirei after what happened? Would you want… me?" She looked at me pleading for an answer that I didn't know how to give. I looked down to the table and thought about all I've heard. I couldn't really imagine the inner turmoil that was going through her head right now. She knows Chiho well enough to know what she will get into if they bond together. She fell in love with the young woman and I couldn't blame her. Chiho is so pure and understanding in not only her situation but my own and Uzume's. She's a sweet innocent girl that deserves better than what life was giving her right now. I could even say that I also feel for the young girl as well.

Then I came into the picture. A man that carries enough secrets to topple kingdoms if they existed today. A man with a darkness in his soul so titanic that it could blanket out the area. I also have the markings on both arms that, from what I saw earlier, could right me off as Yakuza and it wouldn't have been the first time. I could be the most despicable man in the world for all she knows but still reacts to me even more strongly than she did with Chiho. She forgot her own winging form Chiho for me. I think also of the fact that Chiho is dying as well plays into this. We all know what her condition is. We all know that once Chiho passes little would be left of Uzume.

I suddenly remembered how Chiho asked me to take care of our angel. I'm starting to understand just where she was coming from, but still do I want to do this? I do wish to heal Chiho but I'm still a novice and might do more harm than good. I don't want to make the situation worse. I told Chiho what I planned to do for I found it impossible to lie to her and she just smiled at me and told me that she would place her trust in me. A man she never met before and cared for out of the kindness of her heart. I just don't know what to do right now.

I looked back up to Uzume and found her closer than before and pulled back. An action that she took sour towards.

"You don't want me…!"

I placed a finger on her lips actually initiating the touching in a form other than an attack. Something I don't do lightly making her eyes glow somewhat when I cupped her cheek with my hand. "Uzume you need time to think away from me."

She blinked and pulled back in a thoughtful gaze. "But I...I don't know."

She looked like she wasn't even listening to me so I continued. "I'm willing to do whatever you need me to." She looked back to me with the same longing, but I had to clarify this first. "Once I felt you've made up your mind on what you wish to do with any of this I will return for an answer."mI got up and said, "I will come back again and again if that's what you want Uzume." I pushed in my chair again.

"Also you asked me if I could ever want you correct?" She nodded. "The answer is yes. I want you more than I dare show. I want you inside and out. I want everything that makes you Uzume the Angel in White that save my life." I could almost smirk as Uzume's eyes widened with a fierce blush on her face.

"You," she covered her mouth with her fingers. "You really know how to flatter a girl." Uzume smiled warmly and nodded satisfied in my response and bursting with happiness. I turned to leave but stopped when Uzume snatched my wrist. I looked back to her and so a long internal conflict.

"Thank you… for the time I mean. Most men wouldn't be able to resist a hot girl like me." Uzume grinned at me and lowered her grip to take my hand in her own. She rubbed the markings on my wrist with some curiosity. "You have to tell me the history behind these when you become mine."

"Sure," I nodded.

"There's one more thing before you go."

"What's that?"

"I'm the sort of girl that doesn't like to be kept waiting." My jaw almost dropped. I saw a flash of Kuu in her eyes and in that coy smile on her lips. I couldn't answer verbally without it coming out as a grunt so instead I nodded my head. Simple and easy to do. Uzume let my hand go slowly and watched me as I distanced myself from her with a wave.

The sort of girl that doesn't like to be kept waiting. Where have I heard that before?

* * *

Main Protagonist's Nest of Sekirei: Karasuba(Winged), Uzume(Reacting), Haihane(Reacting), ?(Reacting)


	5. Earth, Wind, and Fire

**Chapter 5: Earth, Wind, and Fire**

* * *

"I told you I don't know!" A frightened man scrambled to his feet as his shot around his shop in fear. He pushed merchandise out of the way and tripped repeatedly in his trek away from the being antagonizing him. "I'm just a guy that sells vases and other stuff. Please!" A shadow loomed over the man as his eyes, his golden monstrous eyes, gazed up upon the source of his fear. They gazed upon me.

I glared down at the monster with my hand on Hate. I struggled to keep my spirit contained and sword sheathed for now. My first reaction should've been cutting off this beast's head but reframe from such for now. I leaned down and caught a vase before is could fall from the shelf to my right and replaced it to it's spot from before. In his struggle he broke a few of his vases and other molds for some reason. I only threatened to kill him, his wife, his children, and his brothers if he didn't answer my questions. He of course reacted as this manner of monster would. The end result was him losing a functioning arm. One he held up at the shoulder with his only good one.

"You're not a guy," I shook my head at the beast. "You're a changeling," I reminded the monster as I kneeled down before it. In olden times changelings held all the answers as well as had a link underground groups of monster or monster kin. I don't think that'd change throughout the years.

"H-How do you even know…" I drew my sword and held Hate's fine edge at the monster's neck. His voice seemed to have a fault because it stopped with only a couple incoherent squeaks and gasps to follow after.

"I ask the questions," I warned the beast with a sinister and slow tilt of my head as I leaned inward. "You answer the questions. Makes sense?"

"Y-yes," the monster stammered.

"Good. As I asked before, where can I find The Sect?" I touched his neck with my blade and Hate's edge easily slid between skin. If I'm not careful Hate will slid through his neck. The blade can slice clean through flesh with only his own weight as force alone. Add my strength to is almost nothing stands a chance. "Before you lie to me for the second time take note: you will be the last to go in your bloodline." The threat is typical for me and how I work. I'd rather leave the link of the chain that offended me for last. Just so they understand the weight their choice justly brought them.

"Sir please I'll tell you anything but I…" My dropped Hate to his shoulder and stopped the blade shy of his joint bones. Hate sliced through skin and before could react and scream I grabbed his neck and pulled him up to his feet. I kept Hate level so not to take the arm by accident. "Okay!" The man cried and coughed. I let my grip on his neck wane.

"Speak. Where's the Sect and how many chairs?" I asked ready to snap this monster's neck.

The Sect is the universal name for the council of monsters. Half way though my Eraser years the monster world shifted because of the coming prophecy of the Separation of Worlds that came to being. With Od all but erased from the world the Monster kind began to devise an effort to survive. Like human kind they came together with representatives of each clan within their country banding together to control and regulate their movements within that part of the world. Erasers were created to combat this organized group of monsters. Monsters can't organize and to do so is dangerous. With Jäger from this world the Sect for sure has grown into a permanent and predominate power in the land. Best I know what to expect once I'm seen and I've been seen by a few monsters. During my injured march they saw me for what I am and for sure would spread rumors by now. I need to know what I'm dealing with and the first changing I found became my target.

"I'll tell you… They control the underground and black market okay. I'm one of the fences," the monster gasped. He seems to be having an issue with answer since my hand is around his neck.

I let the neck of the changeling go. I sheathe my sword once more and removed my glove from my right hand. I placed my hand on his forehead and glared at the monster. "Continue and just know that if you lie to me…"

"I-I won't. Please H-Hunter?" He questioned as he examined the markings on my body. "N-No! That's impossible. You're a story they tell bad hatchlings to eat their human livers. You can't be…" My brand glowed and my teeth began to spike into fangs.

"Answer before I take it," I spoke the ancient rite drawing the true inner fear within this monster. So Jäger are passed down as horror stories for monster kind then. Interesting. I can use this to my advantage then.

"I'll tell you…" The man gave me everything he knew which wasn't too much. He's just a fence and so know's very little about the members of Sect who hide behind masks. No one knows who they are or even races. Though he did give me an idea. A restaurant where he'd meet a contact or two for smuggling human parts through the town. They harvest human… makes sense. Human parts are the universal ingredient for most monster delicacies. Spells that I know need Virgin Hearts to work as well.

"Very well." I dropped the changeling down and pulled my glove back on my hand. The skin changing monster backed away from me with wide eyes. "What's your name," I asked it.

"Paye," he muttered below me. The damage I've caused has long since healed over like changelings are capable of doing. "A-are you going to kill my family and then me now."

He actually believes this'll happen. The stories they've passed on through the years must've been dark for him to believe himself dead already. I reached into my knapsack and kneeled down in front of the monster. The being cringed with his back against the wall he crawled himself against. I pulled out two gold pieces before him and smiled at the wide-eyed look this Paye gave me. I flicked the gold pieces to him and he caught them. Changelings love gold and shiny precious metals. I'm relieved this hasn't changed.

"For the merchandise broken due to our conflict before our interaction," I simplified before sitting down in front of the monster. "Let's make a deal," the devil within me spoke using my body and my voice. An equally devilish smile came to my lips at the coming contract.

"Uh... Okay?"

* * *

I've much to investigate in this town. The monster kind are organized and effect the inner working of this city and possible the country. The monster's though will excite long term investigation and judgement. The case of the sekirei though will have to be taken care of. The Sect control much of this city just through the underground, and I wouldn't be shocked if they're moving into the light through politics by now. If they add Sekirei to their endeavors, then their power would grow exponentially. I can't have that. I can't have savage beings like Karasuba or gentle souls like Uzume involved in with monster kind.

After making a contract of information with that changeling Paye I've took to my earlier investigation. For the most accurate of judgement I need to find some if not all the sekirei already released in the city. I believe only seven or so. I've gathered that five of the seven were part of the old disciple squad that Takami told me about and Karasuba mentioned. They're the strongest of their race numbering one through five. With Karasuba ranked as number four there're three ahead of her in strength which is a bit unsettling. There's Uzume, whom of which I met already which helped place most of the points on the Salvation side of the scale, but noticeably weaker than her kin. That leaves four others all very much different from the other.

I stopped and took a bit of a rest inside a small park on a bench in the cover of bushes and trees. I can tell that the bench wasn't here before and that someone moved it from its original place on the path. I like being in the midst of nature even if it is cultivated in like the half alive vegetation here. Nature is nature I suppose. It was quiet here. Much more quiet compared to rest of the city I've transverse over the last couple of hours.

I've followed the next tether forming between my body and another. At first, I was about to ignore it, but my curiosity got the better of me. I decided to follow the tether and before I knew it I was dragged into a mind walk. A subconscious space that connects the two or more minds melded together in a dream like state so they can communicate. I'd say it's an outdated way to communicate over long distances compared to the cellaphony thing they have now. This mind walk I was pulled into drew me to a strange rocky area with the sea in front of me. I didn't know where I was, but I knew I wasn't alone. Someone was occupying the space along with me. The second occupant spoke to me and right off the bat I recognized a man's voice. A man out of everything brought me into that space. A man was tethered to me in a way that Uzume and Karasuba seemed to be. While Haihane did seem willing to become bonded to me I didn't feel that strong of a bond from her like these three.

A male sekirei? This came as surprise to me that a man is trying to contact me. I'm actually uncertain of what to do. If this reaction process works in the same way that mine with Karasuba and Uzume's does then that means he'll influence my mind and body as well. In what way is the question.

My next wonder is whether or not a single human or "ashikabi" can have more than one "destined" sekirei connected with them. From what I compiled though any single ashikabi can have a set number of sekirei under them. This was whether or not they reacted as well.

I have quite a number reacting to me and I've only been in this city for four or so days. Does my presence cause this? Could I be attracting them without realizing? Or could this all just be "Fate?" I've never believed in it but that doesn't mean it doesn't believe in me. These words are not my own. They stem from a different source.

When I faced the man I was surprised. I expected a feminine sort of male but the man was quite masculine standing taller than me and handsome. His features were a bit familiar, but I couldn't place where I've seen them. We spoke for some time in vague statements and small mannerisms that acted as a secondary form of communication. I was intrigued enough to accept his offer to meet and made my way to the desired area.

As I walked I pondered on the purpose behind the Sekirei and their existence. Maybe another war is coming to destroy all humans. Maybe these sekirei are out to eliminate all human life. Maybe we humans are slowly becoming the Neanderthal of this era. Who knows. I don't plan on dying without taking half the world with me though. These thoughts are a mixture of my will and another's desires being Karasuba. Even with this distance between us I can feel her influence and I'm sure it mutual. I feel that we're both kindred spirits with parallel views. I don't care for lives of others and neither does she. The difference between us is that I exploit the lives around me to make life tolerable; Karasuba swims so far in her own sense of loss that she wishes to spread it to make life unbearable for others.

Uzume, the Angel in white. She's not what I expected. Her personality is as bright as her clothing. Her aura is radiant and smoothers me when she was near me. It was like a warm satin blanket wrapping softly around me. It fits seeing that Love drives her. I know her kind, killed her kind, and corrupted her kind. I'd prefer that her light doesn't fade without reason.

From what I was told about sekirei they "react" to the most eligible I believe. This is a broad term and can branch out in almost any way. Karasuba I can understand but not so much Uzume. Uzume and I are opposites I'm sure. If I told her the atrocities I've committed it would sicken her while Karasuba would lather in it. Maybe that's the point or maybe it's a sick joke, I'm not sure.

I left these thoughts behind for now to await the male sekirei that I conversed with. I sit now wondering what might come out of this. A fight isn't one of them. He seems the passive aggressive type. He waits for the right moment before taking action. I'd say he's like me in this regard. I prefer to talk though over fight. This man has a head on his shoulders as well. He could read me like I could read him and very little was revealed between us. He knew not to divulge into specifics until we had a formal meeting which I could agree with. He's calm and stern almost like a rock golem but as=t the same time loose and flexible. This meeting might be interesting, and I might gain a powerful if I approach this carefully.

I don't know why I'm shocked there're male sekirei. I mean all races and species of mammal have two genders: male and female; so sekirei should be no different unless they reproduce like the bird they're named after. That'd be a shame, but I doubt that's the case.

Now that he's here in the real world and close to me I can sense his aura effectively. This male sekirei has an aura that I found peculiar. We talked in a dream or a vision or mind walk a bit but we didn't even do introductions. I suppose we both forgot to trade pleasantries in the midst of our "simple talk." We spoke about each other's sword, our clothes and the meaning, and other things don't matter at all. He told me that the "important insight" should be discussed face to face, not through some weird dream. Such a dream shared between males isn't a common occurrence and I hope it stays uncommon when it comes to me.

While I waited I reached into my coat pocket and produced a folded piece of paper card thing. A pamphlet I believe its called. I rose the paper thing I had and sighed. I made the mistake of not asking Uzume where the bank on the folded paper thing Takami gave me is, but it is what it is I suppose. I could ask that male sekirei when he gets here.

Once he was close and placed the pamphlet back into my coat and closed my eyes. I rested on the bench with my arms on my thighs and leaned forward. I'm rested but not at peace of mind so to be ready for this being. I heard the sound of wood on stone in the pattern of a tall figure walking at an easy pace. The footsteps stopped in front of me and I opened my eyes. I saw a man with silver hair but in a different light it turned a light brown and grey eyes like Karasuba's. I looked further into them and saw a bit of a brown sheen to them, but for only a moment. He wears a yellow-orange scarf wrapped around his neck and a sword rested comfortably in his left. The outfit he wore was strange but a good contrast to his complexion. Black trousers and a long sleeved black blouse of sort with an "X" pattern at his chest showing that fact he wears no shirt underneath that. Like me he wore gloves but his are black compared to my dark brown and fingerless. This man's physique is lean like I can recall, but mine broader than him.

I narrowed my eyes at the man and the sword he carried. The man noticed my attention on his weapon and moved it farther behind his back. I looked back up to the man and pat the spot on the bench next me. He stayed standing for a minute more before relenting to sitting down to my left instead of my right which I found interesting seeing that I was sitting in the center of the bench. Silence flooded the area as I used my senses to read the man next to me and I'm sure he did the same to me in his own way.

"Who are you?" I asked looking for something about the man next to me.

"You know who I am. We met already."

"I know What you are," I clarified. "I don't know Who you are."

The male sekirei grunted in amusement. He turned his head towards me a bit with an almost sly smile on his lips. It's like he just figured out something I couldn't fathom. "You seem confused."

He read me well even though I was as neutral as him. I must admit, this man had my attention now. "You could say that, but that doesn't matter at the moment," I responded evenly.

The man hummed in a deep grunt. "I suppose so, but I wonder," the man mused. I waited for him to continue but he was more occupied with something else. I noticed his sword hand shaking slightly at if it was restless. The position of have his arms down in such a way must be something he wasn't accustomed to.

"If you want to you can get comfortable," I offered. The male sekirei did just that and steadily lifted his sword up to his chest until it was crossing from his left shoulder to his right hip and held it there. His free right hand came up and crossed over his Katana and arm grasping the upper portion of his left arm. He nodded his head downward in a forty-five with his eyes closed. No, they were open but just barely reminding me a lot of a certain silver hair sekirei I know. A strange position to take if you ask me but if it is comfortable for you take whatever position you can.

"Better?" The male sekirei grunted and looked downward in line with his nod.

"A decision on what exactly?" I blinked at the sudden and confusing question to which the male sekirei noticed and clarified. "You told me you would make a decision. I was wondering on what."

Ah, yes we did make light of my previous thoughts on his race, and I make a mention of my coming choice to come. I looked down to the ground and leaned back to rest my back on the bench back. I crossed my arms while I ponded on a good way to answer this man. I feel that the wrong words here might excite retaliation, and I'm not here to fight. Unlike with Karasuba, whom of which I wouldn't care too much if I killed her, I don't wish to conflict with his man. While I know Karasuba's demise would damaged my soul, but I'd shrug it off after a morning's rest. This man on the other hand, I feel if we come to blow, whether he's on top or not, neither one of us will be a true victor.

I thought on my answer for a couple minutes according to the rotary clock on the opposite side of the path from us, but I came up with nothing but the truth. I took a breath. "I'm trying to decide on whether or not I should exterminate your kind completely from the face of the earth," I admitted lightly. I looked back up to the sky that was dim with streaks of orange from setting sun with very few stars in the sky. "And starting with that woman," the darkness reminded me of someone I know. I feel that Karasuba wants to kill me and knows that I wish to kill her but we both can't. When I stabbed her I felt my spine shiver, my soul quake, and my chest hurt close to the same spot where I stabbed her. I fear I might be more susceptible to the after effects of this bond more that I first suspected.

The man turned to face me for the first time to see if I was serious, and I met his gaze in kind. I am serious, and I will go through with my judgement without hesitation or regret like my ancestors before me have. Killing the sekirei Uzume wouldn't be too difficult once I honor my code and pay her back for saving me. I'd finish it while using the bond to get close and then end it right then and there. I'd probably start with her more and end it with Karasuba since she's just as eager to kill anything that moves.

"Exterminate my kind? You are an interesting human."

I snort making the man place a stony glare on me.

"What's so funny?"

"Karasuba told me the same thing. She called me "interesting" as well as "fascinating" as if I was a mystery she's eager to solve," I confessed to the man. I wish her the best of luck for that personal mission of hers. My secrets are my own, and hopefully this bond doesn't allow them to dive to deep within me. That would be disastrous for anyone that does and sees what I saw. There's a reason I'm what I am now.

The man's eyes flashed with surprise. "You met her?" the man scoffed and rubbed his head. "No wonder your deposition of my kind is low."

"You know her?" I asked this, but I have my suspicions on who this man might be. This man is strong, I'd say stronger than Uzume in raw power, but matches Karasuba in overall fighting potential. If Karasuba and this man clashed I'd wager the winner right now would be Karasuba. That's only because she and I are connected, and she grew stronger because of this. She's stronger from my influence to the point that it's shifting my paradigm.

In response to my question the male sekirei grunted in confirmation, but I didn't dwell on it for now. I did make a note to interrogate him on this later.

"It was because of my first encounter," I cemented his thoughts on my current disposition. "With her I tried to make a decision on either to wait or take action on your kind."

"You being alive to meet her and tell the tale means you are either skilled or lucky... or maybe both. You said that it was your first interaction meaning you saw her a second time and lived?"

Someone's clever to notice that. Good.

"Indeed. The first time I met her I was almost committed to annulment."

"What changed your decision?"

"Hard to change something that was never made, but a sekirei by the name of Uzume found me while I was dying and nursed me to health. I thought with the way she dressed she was an angel coming to take me to the skies above."

The male sekirei chuckled for the first time. I glanced him but he just shook his head.

"I woke up this morning. I think I've been out for a three or so days."

"So sometime today you confronted Karasuba again. What's your decision now? Will you try to kill my kind still?"

"I haven't yet decided. What I found out about Karasuba though is that her way of saying hello and good bye are very… interactive."

"You being the one that got away and all surviving the second encounter must say something of your capabilities."

There it is again. "The one that got away." Is that so uncommon of a man escaping the black Sekirei? Of course it is. With my augments I can push to human limits when I wish to and sekirei can react swifter than us. Thankfully my enhanced perceptions evened out the playing field. I'd be dead otherwise or worse captured and experimented on.

I rubbed my chest and my leg and still felt a bit raw on my shoulders. "I didn't survive without some sort of damage to my body. My ribs and back hurt the most right now." From when she scratched me and wrapped her legs around me. She nearly squeezed the life out of me. Before that she elbowed me in the face and before that cut me eleven times. Though to be fair it did leave marks on her neck, her rear, her back, and her legs. Then I stabbed her in front of her heart. I suppose we're even then for now.

The memory of the blood she gave me warmed my stomach. Her blood was amazing and made me feel like I could punched through a house and tear it down. I want to do a transfusion with her and see if I can enhance my body to near sekirei standards but I have to be careful about this. An orc or ogre can hurt but the effect is temporary. A strange race like this might cause more than a headache or muscle cramps once I begin the assimilation process. I need a sekirei soul as well, if they have souls. I'll have to experiment later on this. Speaking of blood, I need to visit Chiho for some of hers. The purer the heart the brighter the glow becomes within. It's greater with virgin blood and ladies that are virgins. I feel if I had a taste of Takami's I'd get sick to my stomach seeing that she's been enhanced already. I can tell.

I banished these thoughts for now and blinked back into reality. The male sekirei looked at me and I met him half way with a simultaneous grunt of relief to each other. I felt a spike like the one Uzume had to the same…reaction.

"You too." Like with Karasuba before I felt this… presence takes control of me. With Uzume as well I said all that and I'm not sure where I came from.

The man rose his eyebrow as his cheeks turned a very faint red. "What do you mean?"

"Uzume's aura shifted from me being near her like this. Yours is mirroring this, and I'm wondering why. She almost seemed ready to attack me so I retreated. Will you attack me like she desired?"

The man shook his head. "Interesting," he hummed. "More than likely she was reacting to you like I am."

"Something tells me my version of reacting and yours are very different." The man tilted his head then sighed and shrugged. "Tell me about this reaction thing. I never go a good explanation."

The male sekirei took a second to steady his light panting. "Very well. I see you as the sort to get the details before jumping to conclusions."

"Only a fool jumps into the ocean without first testing the waters."

The man rose his eyebrow, "Never heard that one."

"Good, because I just came up with it." The man chuckled and rubbed his neck. "Want to walk and talk," I suggest while gesturing towards the known exit to the park.

The man looked around and noticed a couple girls looking over to us giggling and sighed. "Sure." The Sekirei's comfort pose was broken into thousands of pieces with his arms falling back down to his side. I glanced over to the giggling girls a ways away. The typical Japanese girl from what I have seen here in the city. The name eludes me. I took to my feet first and instantly stepped off on my way with the male sekirei following my lead. It's mostly to get away from the giggling girls and to escape bad assumptions or misunderstandings.

I stopped at the exit of the park and faced the man with my arms at my sides. He stopped just a foot in front of me and looked down at me. "You can call me Otieno. Otieno D. Jäger. What may I call you?"

"Mutsu," the male sekirei said blankly.

"Very well." I gestured with a tilt of my head that we are resuming. The male sekirei decided to walk almost side by side to the point that our shoulders touched here or there. I don't usually touch other people if I don't have to. I'm not a touching person. "Embracing" I guess is fine, but not touching or "clutching." Contact with another is reserved for simple pleasantries, my swords, and occasionally my hands to perform a technique. That is the only sort of contact I prefer to have with another, women including, if I have to be the one to start the touching.

The male…no Mutsu as been stoic and calm. No reactions of note to remember other than a smile I think is rare in his face. It looked uncomfortable to hold that being why it lasted only a second.

I closed it my hand into a fist and glanced over Mutsu to find him gone from the spot her was at but now wasn't. I still heard the sound out his wooden sandals behind me. I looked back and found him on my left still but a pace and a half behind me. Mutsu noticed that I noticed his change of place with a grunt.

To fill silence I explained on how I was going to seek out the other sekirei in the town before coming to a decision right now. He agreed with me that I should get my head straight before diving to the ocean with a storm coming. I don't know why I told him anything, but I feel I can trust this man to keep silent. He will take a secret to the grave and I appreciate this.

"How do know where any other sekirei are? Do you have some form of radar?"

"No, I don't have anything like that. I can sense Aura, Od, Ki, and the strange mixture of energy your kind have that fuse those three together. Because of this I can "track" down sekirei. It's how I found Uzume and Karasuba. It's how I'll find the other four scattered throughout the city currently."

Mutsu didn't respond to my small explanation, but I felt his eyes one me though. He wishes to ask me something but can't figure out how exactly to do this. I know this because I'm the samr way most of the time to a person or object that it's unfamiliar.

"Are you a… legacy?" I stopped in my tracks and turned to look into his eyes. Does he know? He can't know. Nobody who did know is no longer with us in this plane. I made sure to silence them all before my banishment. That means no one that knows remains. Mutsu means something else that must be it. I took a breath and stepped back away from him. I noticed the man gulp and follow through with his own step back as well. His eyes wavered and averted from mine, not that I can blame him. I fear my eyes might have turned a bit red like my vision did. If so I probably killed him three or four times before he could even draw his sword.

My eyes when focused can look into your soul and show you exactly how I plan to assassinate you. This is another reason I don a hood. If you know how I plan to kill you then you can stop it. I let impulse command my actions and nearly took action on him, but thankfully I saw that look of confusion and uncertainty in his eyes. His meaning on the word "legacy" and mine are different. For his sake it will stay that way.

I rubbed my eyes until the stinging stopped and the fire in my chest died out. "What do you mean by "legacy' Mutsu," I asked as if nothing happened.

"I-I," he stammered and coughed. He took a breath catch his and turned back towards me. "I thought that maybe you are the legacy of a sekirei. You don't seem to be fully human."

"Legacy of a sekirei? What do you mean?" This race can't be that old to have legacies or descendants. I'm sure I would've recognized them in the past if that were true. Maybe he's mistaken but he's not the sort to waste words. There's more to this than I first, second, and thirdly thought.

"I'm not sure," he said in a murmur. "She told me something about it but I never believed it."

"Who is She?" He means another sekirei maybe. His senior probably.

"If you can "sense' us then you'll meet her in due time." Which translates to figure it out yourself on your own. I accepted this and turned back around.

"Let's keep going. We're getting close."

I tracked one sekirei to a tall building not too far from where we were. Mutsu walked with me quietly as we went to the alleyway.

"The roof." I pointed up.

"Hm." Mutsu grunted and walked toward me. Before I could ask why he took my waist in his arm and hugged me to him until our hips touched. "Hold on," he warned but I gripped his shoulder and got him to turn his attention back to me, not the roof.

"What are doing?" My tone was calm but inside I was a hurricane. What does he think he's doing touching me like this? This isn't normal and this isn't "embracing" because unlike with Karasuba I minded that he held onto me like I'm some damsel. I've half a mind to elbow his stomach with enough Ki to crack a boulder then leg sweep him but I relented. I prefer not to act without good reason so I waited for his response.

"I am going to carry you up. Is there a problem?" I looked at the man to see if he was serious which he is. He's literally "clutching" my hip and squeezing me uncomfortably against him. He could at least be gentler, but still that wouldn't work with me.

"I can do it myself." Mutsu spared me one last glance before letting my hip go. I broke out of his hold on me and shivered a bit. That was uncomfortable especially with how strongly he took me in arm. It felt too wrong for me to accept it like that. It was like I was allowing him to take control of me and how I move.

"I'll meet you up there," I said without looking at him. I ran to the wall and wall jumped from one wall to the one behind me. With Od I can manifest a ghost claw that helps me climb and imbued this in my right hand to grip cracks and breaks in the wall. I took a breath and climbed up. I leaned over to see Mutsu's progress only to have to hug the wall for he launched up from ground level up to the top of the roof next to me with faint smile on his lips. Cocky bastard. The man jumped straight up which I saw as unfair, because I can't do that. This was one of the taller buildings as well and was at least 20 stories high.

I reached to top stomping onto the roofing. Mutsu dropped off the side and walked further onto the roof. I shook my head and followed him. "That wasn't fair." I walked up to Mutsu who was strangely still. He was focusing on something, so I followed his gaze. I noticed a woman sitting down on the roof leaning on the railing watching the sun set. Mutsu let out a breath the moment she saw him and she waved.

"Ah Mutsu it's been too long," the woman spoke in a mature and slightly deep voice the flowed through me like a beautiful tune.

I looked back to Mutsu as he rubbed his temples. I don't really see what was wrong with her. She looked like a very mature, gorgeous, and relaxed woman. The woman noticed me behind Mutsu and smiled. An excessively sultry and yet soft smile as well.

"And you have a friend." The woman leaned off of her railing and can you blame me for staring at her large breasts as they noticeably bounced at the slightest movement. The woman must have noticed it or maybe she just has that sort of grin all the time. The type that says "I know something you don't" and "I caught you with red handed" at me. "Tell me friend of Mutsu, would you like a drink?"

I rubbed my temples next and sighed. Finding a viable mask to match her persona will be stressful that's for sure. "Sure," I responded giving up on everything. "A drink would be nice." I walked toward the women and must say out of all sekirei I have seen in this city, being only ten or eleven so far, this women is the most buxom next to Uzume. Actually this woman was starting to remind me of Uzume with the way she looked at me but is, as I said, older with the deepest dark pit I've seen in sekirei eyes. They're colored in a dark purple but the aura surrounding them are black. She's seen something she's wishes to unsee. I can see them even though they're blocked by those dark glasses things she wore.

This woman has a very interesting attire that she went with. It is very short purple Chinese dress that showed off gorgeous legs from mid-thigh down. The dress reminds me much of Mutsu's top with how shows her cleavage and her belly button. This woman's body is well-developed with a very curvaceous figure as well as being the most firm without any hint of sag. What is with sekirei and having near perfect bodies?

Her lustrous black hair has a purple shine to it in the light and tied up with strands she left alone to fall down past her ears to her breasts. Those black glasses she wore, I have to admit, look good on her. By the shadow world this woman is the most gorgeous sekirei I have ever met. Just by the smile she and prideful look in her eye she knew it and loved it. She watched me staring at her and yet she magically made two more cups appear and pour what smelled like sake in them. She did with her eyes glued in me still but my eyes are focused on those devils on her chest. Her back must hurt like a demons riding on it. Her skin was flawless and her arms and legs slender and yet still muscular to a point making her amazing in my eyes.

"You like what you see stare-kun?" I nodded up and down silently then shook my head furiously to clear it of my very inappropriate thoughts.

"Yes, I do. You're so unbelievably gorgeous that you make angel's and god's green with envy." I wasn't flattery or a meaningless compliment, but I actually meant what I said.

The women looked taken back by the seriousness of my words and giggled with a coy smile. "Mutsu, you keep good company for once."

"And you're still on your tour I see Kazehana. I thought you would have been in South America by now."

The woman snickered, "You're right about that, and I have been there already including the Caribbean. You should go sometime. The liquor made from fruit there is to die for." The woman must like her booze. The seriousness and soul she put into her response has me a little put off.

"Hope you didn't drown yourself too much in your tour." Mutsu sighed but with a faint smile in his lips. So faint it's almost like it doesn't exist.

The woman no, Kazehana took one last swig of her drink and sighed with flushed cheeks. "A young angelic woman like myself needs to let go when her heart is broken."

"What sort of man or woman put it on themselves to reject a goddess like yourself? You seem like the type to never let your prize go." I picked up a cup that she presented to me as I finished. With hopeless abandon I drank the strong sake and coughed as it burned my insides.

"You shouldn't bother with the past stare-kun." Kazehana took a sip of her drink and pour me my second glass. "It's like the wind, it just flows away out of reach the more time goes by."

"I... see." I sighed and drank the fire in a cup again sitting down in front of the woman. This woman suffered some manner of indignity in the past and so childishly turned to alcohol to drown her memories and her sorrows. Why wouldn't the sekirei race have one of those ruts as well?It's almost pathetic because from what I picked up she's suffering from a broken heart. She can't seem to move on despite her past words. Time has done nothing for her except weaken her. I can sense that Mutsu could take her down alone same with Karasuba if they had to. Even though she's spilled blood like these two she wallowed in a very "human" sense of self pity. Interesting.

"But I am sure this is not a coincidence on your part." Mutsu said to me with a glare. He must had read what I might be thinking and found it untoward of me. He respects her for some reason. They have a past obviously and probably shed blood together. That might mean this is one of the old Discipline Squad. She's not number one so maybe two or three.

I left my thoughts at that and re-equip my persona that seems to be working right now. "I didn't know and it would have happened anyway. Either way this is good opportunity because the goddess here can tell me what I need to know," I worded to make it sound as if I wanted information and direct away to how I found her.

"You keep really good company moody-kun." Mutsu frowned at the nickname while I grunted with an expression of amusement on my face. "Oh and since you know my name stare-kun shouldn't you at least tell me yours? Just so I have a name with a face."

"You can't see my face though." My hood shadows the top portion of my head other the tip of my nose down to my jaw. If I wore my face mask as well that would be a different story.

The woman Kazehana tilted her head waiting for me to give her was she wants. "My apologies," she spoke dryly. I could tell by the nearing sarcasm in her tone that a real conversation isn't that easy to have without her first knowing just who she's talking to. It was time to drop the mask and get to business. I have some good information to ponder on now and this bush beating is wearing on me.

"My name doesn't matter but I can tell you that I deal in the lives of others so to speak," I said in my normal voided tone while crossing my arms over my chest.

Kazehana snickered at my sudden change and drank directly from the bottle. "You seem like a fun guy to be around."

"So I've heard." I sighed at the memory of Kaede that insane bandit killer that was a legend for her skill and beauty. She look ordinary to me and the rest of the world but her skills with a spear were not to be underestimated. I know from experience.

"Really, I sense a story coming," Kazehana jeered.

I shook my head. "No, I only want to know a couple things."

"Well, drink with me and ask."

"Yes let's just get this over with." Mutsu grumbled impatiently.

Kazehana looked back to me then to Mutsu then grinned. "Oh Mutsu, did you find yourself a lover in this world finally?"

Mutsu and I rose and eyebrow and looked at the woman like she was crazy.

"No, we are not lovers." Mutsu answered.

"Though he's reacting to me and is to be my sekirei, any romantic or intimate thoughts you have between us will remain as such." I finished for him.

"Ah, so you will fall in love soon!" Kazehana cried excitedly.

"Sure?" That sudden change in her aura caught me off guard.

"Well if you're to be his ashikabi then why haven't you then?" Kazehana leaned closer with a coy smile.

"Because I want to get some facts straight. As I said I'm a dealer of other's lives and the life your race is included in that." I reached up and pulled back my hood and removed it from over my head. I tugged down my mask as well and regarded this woman seriously. Kazehana's eyes scanned my facial features closely from my chin to my nose and eyes. In moments that smile that was on Kazehana's lips faded. She looked over to me with a serious stare and her cheeks lost the redness from before at my words.

"Who are you?" She turned surprisingly serious with a mixture of her "not a care in a world" attitude from before.

"Someone planning to exterminate your race depending on severity," I answered.

Kazehana stared at me before sighing hard. "Ah man," she rubbed her head and took a long swig. "You must be one of them."

"I'm not one of 'them'. I work only for myself."

"Mutsu are you hearing what this guy is saying?"

"I do and understand his stand point. The first sekirei he has ever seen was Karasuba and you can imagine what she was like."

Kazehana's eyes widened. "That woman huh?" Kazehana's smile returned. "Well I can understand as well but believe me when I say this; Sekirei are beings of love and once we receive it we grow becoming one with our ashikabi. Karasuba is just one of many so don't judge the many for the few. If you ask me that girl just needs a little tumble to get her head on straight after what happened between her and..."

"Kazehana," Mutsu stopped her with a quick snap.

"Oh, yeah. I'm not supposed to talk about that now am I?" She giggled mischievously. "How could I be so forgetful?"

"How indeed," Mutsu huffed.

While I'm a bit curious about what might have happened to Karasuba before, I have time to find out later. I thought on the information I was told to let it sink in. Sekirei are beings of love. Love? What is love supposed to do? I've seen some fools risk their lives for love. I've seen kings wage war over love. I've witnessed the birth of abominations because of a twisted sense of love. Love means nothing to me. I thought I loved Rika. She was my only sister and because of this "love" she died. And sekirei use this phenomenon as a means to grow stronger and thus increase the rate in which that sekirei manipulates the mind, body, and soul of whatever man or women they leech off of. What else are they capable of doing?

"What do you mean by 'beings of love'?" I asked.

"It's as it sounds." Kazehana announced gaining the playfulness she showed earlier again. "Love is everything to a sekirei and it's how we grow as a person. Without it we become weak and our ashikabi will be affected like we are. Though not as drastically but there's a difference. With The Sekirei plan coming a loveless bond will be one that will never reach the heavens above."

I almost scoffed at the "Minaka stuff" that both Karasuba and Takami also mentioned during our interactions with one another. "You actually believe in love conquering all don't you?"

"Of course!" I shook my head and took to my feet. "A Sekirei knows who's to be their destined ashikabi when they react and by the way that Mutsu is starting to pant lightly with a red cheeks he's seconds from jumping you. This is the first I've seen him like this as well. It's funny."

I looked back and took notice of this. It's all in the eyes. They react to a human in a way that looks like they are on that sort of medicine to make them a little grabby. If I do get involved any further I can only imagine the damage that I'd bring to this city. Then again if I find myself bonded to women like Kazehana and Uzume it might not be all that bad. I'm bonded to Karasuba but she is a wild card in the deck of this game right now. I'm not the type to let an asset go unless the detriments outweighed the benefits. Maybe they do for her and maybe for Kazehana and Uzume as well. Mutsu seemed to know much and held a level of understanding of all three I could use. Before I wing anything else I need to meet the other Sekirei to finish my judgment. One is not too far from here as well as the other two far north.

"Listen friend of Mutsu. I know you're not a bad man; I can tell." I almost snort at this. As far as she know I'm not a "bad guy" but I'm certainly not a good guy.

"And I want you to leave this… whatever you're doing behind and embrace the changes. I know you can feel them and that's for a reason. You are the destined ashikabi of Mutsu and who knows whomever your joined with now and in the future. You have purpose like they do to help and heal one another as it's meant to happen. Maybe in ways you never thought possible."

My eyes widened a bit and her smile grew at this. She knows. She can tell that I'm bonded to a sekirei already. She's suggesting that I don't fight the alterations her kind will cause me. Why should I? Monsters that held a power close to this I slaughtered without a second thought. Why should I hesitate for some inhuman creatures that spread their wings when kissed? Ones that could be used by the very beasts I hunt.

"You're afraid and I won't try to understand why," she said lightly with a wave of her hand. The wind suddenly picked up and blew past me to the point that I had to raise my hand up to shield my eyes.

"But is it fear of what could happen to others, or what could happen to You?"

This woman isn't to be underestimated anymore. She's more insightful than I first assumed much like I never expected Karasuba to be so physically affectionate. This sekirei is truly showing her age as well as her experience. This world wide alcohol tasting tour of hers might have helped her come to terms and learn a higher means of wisdom she faintly showed until now. I found myself listening to her advice and pondering her words carefully.

Am I troubled about humanity and the effect that this new race might have on it, or am I disturbed about the influence they will inflict upon me? I'm not sure now. I've spent so long fighting entities that caused unfamiliar alteration to my mind and body that I didn't approve upon first. Body enhancements need to be done in accordance to the situation and the monster I'm hunting and Sekirei are not monsters. They love, hate, worry, smile, and interact much like humans do. They are compatible to a fault but with only so few humans I've passed by. I'm one of them in fact that has a wavelength that corresponds with theirs.

Kazehana says that I'm destined to be with a sekirei whether I like it or not and to accept it. She wants me to allow sekirei to change me and for me to change them to find some form of balance with each other. She wants me to love them, them to love me, and for us to mutually heal one another. That's asking the world from me. I'm not sure if I can do that. I can't just let these people in and let whatever happens happen. That's chaos for my kind. My thoughts turned to my right arm and just what I have contained within. If They can effect me then anything tied to me can be as well.

Regardless of my personal predicaments I suppose it's not fair to judge a race according to what might happen with me. For all intents and purposes I'm dead to this world so I shouldn't factor too much of myself in it. Humans in this city are little threat to me, even with a sekirei on their shoulder. If they suddenly lost their sekirei I'm sure Minaka has a contingency plan being why they created Discipline Squad. If MBI is as powerful as Takami hinted at then maybe I should just "play the game" while continuing on with my usual system.

It does comes back to whether or not they can be used by the monster world. These sekirei seem to only be able to mix with ashikabi and by the sound of it they are all human like myself. Sekirei can still be used and abused by my prey but maybe I can keep this from happening. I can start fostering a group, killing monsters, gathered a successful source of income, and growing in power that the general masses know little about. I can grow and protect the sekirei and the beings attached to them.

I can do this with a "Wait and See" approach on how this game will go while I work. I'll even go and travel the world if I can figure out how the modes of travel work nowadays. From what I heard Kazehana has traveled the world freely and with the phase this plan is now I have time before anything substantial happens.

"You've come to a decision friend of Mutsu?" Kazehana mused.

I nodded and took to my feet. "Thank you for your time and the drink Ms. Kazehana. I appreciate the knowledge you've bestowed upon me."

"Ah, no. Don't act so formal or talk like that," she flicked her fingers at me as if telling me to leave. "It makes me feel old."

Mutsu snort but said nothing for Kazehana spared him a glance and a smile that reminded me of Karasuba's in nature.

"You may call me Otieno ma'am. Otieno D. Jäger."

Kazehana turned her attention back to me and gazed upon me in a different light. "It took me getting out of my relaxed state to get a name. I wonder what more would take," she said suggesting something to which I smirked at the woman.

"More than that, much more."

"I feel your destined ones will have their work cut out for them. Please remember what I said, and it will all be easier on you."

I bowed my head to the woman. I may be older in in overall years but she's much wiser than I. I am still young and inexperienced with much to learn. Maybe this game will help alleviate my ignorance.

"I feel your sekirei and you will be quite assorted. They will fill shadow within you and parts unknown to you. In time you will become whole and reach the pinnacle you are destined to meet." she prophesied. I say this because she sounded a bit ominous like a seer predicting your future downfall.

"What do you mean?"

"Who Knows!" She giggled and placed a second finished bottle down next to her. "Might be rambling or it might mean something. It's all up to you decide which is which." She spoke like a seer to the end.

"Very well. Mutsu," I called and he stood up to his feet.

"Try to take it easy old friend," he said his farewell.

The woman rose her cup to Mutsu before downing the last of her sake. "Same goes to you general." Kazehana turned back to me. "I pray you find what your looking for," she said equipping that serious expression for a moment before it faded away back to her care free one. "And if you're ever out for a drink again I'm always available. Maybe I'll see you in America next month. That's where I'm going next."

"Maybe I'll see you there." Just to see what might come out of it.

"We have plenty of time before the game starts so use it while you can."

I bowed my head one last time before walking back to the edge of the building. I leaned forward and fell head first.

"What the hell!"

I knew I'd surprise someone with this. What insane human would willingly fall off, head first, twenty stories down to the stone below. I know a few and I happened to be one of them. While I don't like to climb or look down from Heights I can fall from them like anyone else could. You just need to let go and brace for the coming impact. I can fall from about thirty stories before it becomes a little too much. I just need to kick down and enough Od to "Brake" at the last moment and ki to soften my landing. Just as I was about to flipped and point my feet down I felt something wrap around my waist.

"Don't move."

I didn't have much choice in the matter. Mutsu, for he's the only one that had the opportunity to jump after me, wrapped his arm around my waist and pointed his feet down. He landed with start and me laying down cradled in his arm at my stomach. I'm sure I look like a sack of potatoes right now with how I feel right now. If I could rate my current position on my most embarrassing and shameful positions yet this would be a close second and that's hard to do. I'm so aghast that I don't even know how to react to this. Do I struggle? Do I try to run far away? Do I try to explain myself? I just don't know anymore.

Mutsu pulled me back up and sat me down on my feet. He looked me over quickly and grunted when he was satisfied with my state. He looked up to me and frowned, "Why did you do that?" He demanded more than asked.

"It's the fastest way down," I said in a monotone before walking past him. I pulled my hood back over my head and walked away. What pride I had in my body was taken and what's a dragon without pride? A little lizard like the ones with tails that grow back.

"That's not good enough," he stomped up behind me. "No matter what Kazehana said trying to kill…"

I placed a finger on his lips when I reached back without turning my head. It's best for him he doesn't finish that statement in ear shot. "I would never for one. Two: I can fall from thirty stories without injury so what you did was sorely unnecessary. Three: if I required your assistance with an obstacle or heights I'll voice it. Until that time that never happened. I fell off the roof and landed on my own and then you followed close behind me. Nothing more and nothing less. Understood?"

Mutsu blinked and nodded his head. Satisfied with this whether or not he truly did understand or not I my hand fall and waved for him to follow me. Mutsu took a long breath and followed close behind me. 'Where to now?" He asked.

"South. I wish to meet one last Sekirei that is closest to us right now. A male like yourself actually."

"You can even tell what gender they are?"

"Of course. Do you expect males and females to have the same aura sequences? It's more apparent with sekirei than humans though. I'd say males and females for sekirei don't deprive from an alike ancestor like for humans. It's said that one human was made that was male and a female was made from the flesh of the first male. But I don't think that's the case for your race. You and the others are completely different, and I feel your genetic algorithms would be fascinating to experiment with."

"Huh?"

"What? Did I say something strange?"

"Yes," Mutsu said bluntly. "You sounded almost like someone I knew in the past."

"Is this a… good thing?"

"I don't think so."

So unlike with Kazehana he finds this other person in his past a little less commendable. I'd like to meet this person… and what's an algorithm. That's a strange word that just came to mind. I looked down to my chest with my spirit sight once more and sighed. "Another one," I muttered before shaking my head. "It doesn't matter." I waved off my own words and thoughts. "We aren't too far away from this next Sekirei. We just need to turn this corner right here."

I took a left at a corner and looked upon this city's night life. Loud noises, the intense smell of alcohol, and the lights pointing in all directions. That's about right for a city and its night life.

"The strip huh?" I heard Mutsu say despite the loud noises. "This is a road comprised of mostly bars and restaurants. I am almost surprised Kazehana wasn't here, but I know she prefers the quiet life than this."

She dresses for the loud life in my opinion, but I didn't voice this.

"The sekirei you can "sense" is here?" Mutsu questioned.

"Yes." I rose head up and took a breath. I could feel him near. I might as well start using pronouns seriously instead of thinking of them as an "it" than an individual.

They may not be human, but they are people. I have to respect that despite my inner turmoil. Kazehana brought up some interesting points and provided more insight on sekirei psychology for me. I agree with her is on myself accepting the changes. In order to fully understand them I need to experience them. She made it sound as if I was going to have more sekirei than I could handle. That means the evolution of myself and my sekirei will be quite drastic. One I'm bonded with and three I'm reacting towards are already affecting me.

I need to update my journal with all this and soon.

"He's here," I pointed at a building. I saw a good assortment of women of different age groups inside through the window. I saw a few men, my target included. With my sight he was highlighted at his core compared to the humans within. Looking into place I noticed a fair amount of men in outfits. One appeared to me dressed like a king, even has the crown on his head. Something tells me with my "outdated" sense of fashion, I'll fit in here.

"Oh, I've never seen you hear before," I heard in English of all languages. I turn around face to face with a woman a head shorter than me. Japanese with pinkish hair. How did she get there? She stood before me with a coy smile as she scanned my body like a shiny new trophy on the wall. "Or you. You're really cute," she teleported in front of Mutsu before turning her attention back to me. "You as well. An African American and dressed almost Victorian with bit of Renaissance in the mix. Are you both here for a job, because I might have some spots available?"

"Your English is good," I complimented with an easy smile. "As for a job, my compatriot and I currently aren't interested as of now. We're scooping out."

The woman frowned in displeasure. "And I was looking forward to having some handsome diversity in my establishment," the woman sighed. "Kagari is a dear and brings in a good business, but I can use more."

"Kagari?" I questioned.

"Oh yes. He's a dear. That's him at the bar, right there." The woman pointed right at my target.

"When did he get here?"

"Around a month ago. I swear that man is more lost than Zoro."

That the sounded like a person. "Who?"

The woman just waved it off. "Just a guy from an anime I watched as I kid."

"I see," I disregarded what she just said. "You mind if we go in?"

"Of course not but first please remove your hood. You need to show off the lovely complexion."

I closed my eyes and rolled them under the lids before pulling my hood down. I past by the woman and entered the building past a couple girls and tables. Nice club I suppose. By far this is the most excited place I have seen in this town. I could smell the alcohol in the air and was a bit tempted to indulge for a moment.

Kazahana, I think her aura is starting to cloud my mind because she's coming to it every other moment. Sekirei have been managed by humans that happened to be mostly Japanese and yet they don't have their likeness. The only one of Asian descent with noticeable features is Karasuba, and she's a mix of something else as well. Maybe Russian.

The man up ahead was definitely Japanese and one of those close to female looking ones at that. Pretty boys I think they're usually called, much like Mutsu though his are rougher in mature sort of way. Mutsu has a few features only in some of his facial traits but he his lacks the eyes like Karasuba.

Uzume looks to be more of European than anything because she has slender yet curvaceous features but still is broad in a way that makes her shapelier that the people here. Then there is Kazehana and if I could guess she's of Scandinavian decent and maybe a little Japanese descent but that is a big maybe. Her skin is all that makes her stand out and even that is lightly tanned and not pale like the people here.

I looked over this Kagari at the bar and the woman with him. I can see that she's being wooed by him through why would a Sekirei do that? From what I've compiled a Sekirei will find a worthy mate and bond with them so why is this one disregarding this. He's not reacting to the woman at all. Maybe he is a male courtesan out to woo and give woman a night for a sum of gold or paper money. The woman was giggling and smiling so this man is doing something right.

"Mutsu I'm going to approach that man. If you want you can stay in here or wait outside."

"I'll stay near you Otieno, just encase." The man seems to be a little protective of me even though we have just met only hours ago. The life force inside him seemed to grow in instant bursts then simmer back down but not for long.

I approached the bar with my presence concealed from his senses, but he seemed to be too lost in thought to notice an extra sitter. "What can I get for you?" The man looked up then noticed the bartender was not talking to him but to me. I felt his eyes on me for a moment before they averted back to his drink.

If all sekirei search for their Ashikabi or are recovering from heartbreak like Kazehana and Uzume, then why isn't he doing the same?

I scanned his body and stopped when in reached his core.

What in the underworld?

His core is unstable. It feels as if the energy within it is in the earlier stages of The Fallout. Basically it's when the regression of a Jäger body or mind reaches the point that the body can no longer sustain itself and the beings within it. Best case scenario the body implodes. At the worst, you burst with your body becoming dominated by the demons within thus turning into a Revenant. If this ever happened to me this city would go under in under two hours. Without a proficient Jäger in the area the city will fall. If I lose my barrier then it's all over. These Sekirei are a danger to the balance within me. I can handle it now but who knows later on.

"Nothing," I said lightly to the bartender. "I just need a second to sit." I switched to a new persona to better match the atmosphere. The bartender shrugged and went back to cleaning the glass.

"You look like you had a hard day," Kagari passed my way.

He's the first one making contact. This makes it a lot easier.

I sighed loudly and placed my chin on the palm of my hand. "Just one of those days I suppose."

"I heard that." My target said with his own sigh.

I chuckled lightly. "You know I heard that silver hair is a sign of mystical power in the family."

The target rubbed his hair and smiled tiredly. "I never heard of that."

"Along with a great many things as well I am sure."

The girl noticed that his attention was diverting from her and looked over to me and checked me out. She smiled coyly at me, but I shook my head and turned my head away. The woman frowned and walked away but not before whispering something in his ear and tried to kiss him. The target turned his head always for a minute with a disgusted frown on his face. The girl pouted but winked and left us at the bar.

"You can call me Jäger." I extended a hand that was taken a second later.

"Kagari." I could tell that was a lie just by his body language and the slight tighten of his grip. That's most likely an alias he took up to hide. Whom is the question.

"Tell me is Jäger your real name?"

"Is Kagari your real name?" I returned with a smirk that Kagari returned with a held back chuckle.

"Hey Yamato a stock for the hero here." The bartender nodded and got to work.

"You seem like an all right person Kagari so tell me why you are a Courtes... Host?" I corrected myself last minute.

Kagari shrugged, "looking for something I suppose."

"I can relate. Life sometimes feels like a trip to that one something and then," I snapped my fingers. "The journey is over and you're left uncertain or filled with regret. Do you agree or think I'm full of shit?" A small glass was sat down in front of me with a clear liquid and a cherry inside as well. Why a cherry of all thing? I took it and gulped it down. It tasted good and I liked the lack of burn as it went down. I finished it and smiled to the silver haired man.

"I say that's pretty close for others I know. Once they find their something their journey isn't over but instead gets complicated. That's a long way from here though."

"These others and not yourself? Are you sick?"

Kagari chuckled and gulped down his drink. "Nah, just unfortunate enough to live on borrowed time." He saw my looked of confusion and said, "makes no sense. I get it but you don't have to worry. I got time."

So he knows about his condition. He knows his body is going to destroy itself in the Sekirei version of The Fallout. That's a shame but at least he's preparing for it in his own way. He knows he going to die so more than likely is going to live life as he wishes until that time. To think Sekirei are this diverse. A woman that wants to end the world, a woman that's drinking her problems away, a woman with relationship love triangle issues, a man dying and living his life as he wishes, and so many more different people. This is only a few of many. There's also the girl I stabbed in the neck as well. They had one stupid enough to force my hand. It's strange to see such alien creatures display humanity in such a way.

I've gathered enough data render proper judgement. I'll wait and continue my usual standby duties and let these people live as they see fit under their guardians' eyes. I don't need to interfere and this might be a worth while experience for me. I'll accept the sekirei that will better assist me with my purge and move on from there.

"Thanks for the drink Kagari. I'll be seeing you."

Kagari waved back as I took my leave with Mutsu behind me. That Kagari character was a nice guy if not a little lost. Lost like a Zoro

* * *

Next to research are the beings in the north. These two are very bright in the spectrum. Both of which outshine even Karasuba in their own way. One is raw unbridled power with the most combat potential. The other seems more supplementary.

This can be researched tomorrow maybe. The moon has long rose high in the sky to take her brothers place. I needed food but the only thing I have is silver and gold not this paper currency used now. I reached into my pockets and sighed.

"Mutsu do you know a place we can stay for the night?" I looked around to the many lights and all the other things that makes this place almost unbearable.

"Maybe but by the looks of it you might lack the necessities to stay there."

I reached a little farther into my pockets and felt for something. I took it in hand and pulled it out. A roll of paper but not just any kind paper but currency. I placed it back into my pocket and sighed again. "Karasuba I just don't get you, but thank you."

"What do you mean by that?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Mutsu you follow me still," I faced the man finally. I've had so many questions to ask and wasn't sure where to start. I guess this is what came to mind and out of mouth first. "Why is that?"

"Because you are to be my Ashikabi." The way he said with steeled determination that made me trip for a second. I caught myself and coughed.

"I am to be your Ashikabi? I am supposed to be your destined one that you will serve until we ascend to the heavens? How can that be after all you are a man and so am I?"

Mutsu looked at me with a frown. "Is me being a man a problem? You are to be my Ashikabi. I can feel it."

The fact that his temperature rose and his regulated breathing turned into slow pants didn't help us keep a low profile. I rubbed my head to what I just heard. I noticed a couple people starting to listen in to this making me growl. "Just what are you people staring at?" I resounded making the out lookers jump and walk away.

"How can I be your Ashikabi?" I decided to test the waters. "Another sekirei has reacted to me before you do how can I also be your fated one?"

"Because you are strong enough to attract more than one. You are a powerful Ashikabi to attract me or any other single already in the city." Mutsu groaned and shifted in place like he was seconds from falling over.

"I... see." I'm curious about this emergence thing. Just how can a kiss can do anything other than excite your partner? With just one simple kiss and I'd be bonded forever to this man and any other man or woman I attract like Uzume or the seikirei I already have. I had to weigh my options in a situation like this. In a game of kill or be killed powerful warriors are needed; strong powers as well. From what I can feel each Sekirei has a power which begged the question, "Mutsu what type Sekirei are you?"

The man looked at me bemused at the sudden question but humored me. "Hmm you could say I am a quake sekirei."

A quake? If memory serves a quake is the shake and tremor of the earth. A quake Sekirei. If he has the same power as an earthquake, then he's dangerous to go up against especially if you fight on the same element he is attuned to. One which happens to be everywhere around us. That explains why Kazehana and he were at odds so much during our talk. She the manifestation of the wind and opposite to that if Mutsu who's an earth based Sekirei. Earth and wind would be interesting to have by my side in this tournament.

Mutsu sighed and crossed his arms then leaned on a wall with how head bowed, and eyes closed. "All I want is to be of use. If you don't need me then I will leave you alone if you wish, and I will try to find an ashikabi elsewhere. But I do want you as my master. I can see much more than you think. I can see that you are much more cunning than you make yourself out to be. You act differently for each one of my siblings you visited. You act accordingly to whoever you speak to. You're proficient in a fight from what I see from your body language, and you're equipped for almost any situation. You are a mystery. Though I while would prefer it was a woman over a man," he muttered under his breath. "If had any choice I would choose you out of any man or woman in the world," he finalized strongly.

By the gods I actually felt by cheeks burn. I mean that just isn't fair to tell me just out of nowhere and expect me to not react or at least a little nervous like now.

Mutsu noticed my silence then pushed of the wall. "I suppose I will..."

"No you won't." I declared with his arm in my grasp. "If you choose me out of every man and even every women in this word then I'm honored to earn respect from someone like you. I do want you Mutsu and I do need someone like you. I can see that you're powerful with a strong sense of judgment and inner strength that corresponds with your element. You're hard to move and stand by your own decisions and remain indomitable like the stone. I need someone like you and if you can accept me then I will accept you."

For the first time Mutsu and I have been together the man has never shown any emotion except tier stoical expression and the occasional grunt. His eyes are wide with surprise, his mouth is open slightly, his cheeks are red, and his body is laxer instead of tense now. His energy spiked even more than before.

"You mean this." Mutsu said more than asked. He knows what I said is exactly what I mean. Mutsu's free hand came up and took my opposite arm into it fully facing me. "Then we are in agreement?"

"Yes," I relenting to the "change" that Kazehana hinted about. If we are to be bonded than at least its one of the single digit warriors. I'm not sure which he is but it must be higher than Kazehana. It has to be.

Mutsu smiled and nodded once before he stated to pull me closer toward him. It was then I noticed the real height difference between us. The man was taller by a few inchs and towers over maybe 90% of the populace of Japan and china. Then there's the small fact that I'm about to kiss a man of all things. Kissing a man is nothing new for me sadly. I once had to act in a play when I played the emperor I played the wife Goddess Kaguya and we kissed. No big deal. It was for the stage and I had to get close enough to my target without raising too much suspicion and a poisoned kiss was a good way to settle the contract.

This is sort of different though because I'm not attempting kill this man. Instead I'm join with him in a way I can't understand, and in front of a crowd of screeching girls no less doing something on those light boxes. I didn't like the way they were pointed at us.

I looked back to Mutsu and the disturbing intense stare he has on my eyes. I head the gasps of the girls around me as Mutsu leaned forward and pulled me closer in. This was getting out of hand. I let go of Mutsu's arm and put a finger on his lips which were less than an inch from my own.

"Mutsu." The man blinked at me. "We should do this somewhere private."

Mutsu looked around at the surrounding Japanese people that stopped to see this through. People in their cars all stopped and watched as well making this situation and making this more uncomfortable. They had some sort of things pointed at use ogling the screen they were looking at as if they struck gold. And why not right seeing two interracial male men talking like lovers or something would be surprising enough to stop even me to spare a glance. I felt agitation grow from my predicament than ever before.

Mutsu sighed his blush away and let me go. I heard the disappointed groans from around me from the many viewers so enough was enough.

"We should go. Keep up if you can," I challenged. I pride myself on my running speed and wonder if he can match it.

I jumped over the crowd and ran for it and Mutsu followed close behind. I stopped at an alley and quickly made my way deeper into it. I sighed loudly at the fact that we made that much of a scene with all those people raping us with their eyes. Mutsu stopped in front of me with a grim look on his face and grunted before leaning on the wall across from me. He was out of breath by the looks of it but how can that be for the run was short and fast.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

Mutsu placed his sword on the ground like a cane and it punctured the stone surface like it was paper and nodded. "Listen…" I nodded and waited for him to talk though his pants. "I need you to say it again."

"Say 'what' again?" I asked.

Mutsu shook his head confusing me more and more. I heard another suggestion in my head so I walked over to him and place a hand on his shoulder. He seemed fine if not a little rosy cheeked. I looked into his eyes and realized it quickly what he wanted to hear.

I smiled, "I need you Mutsu."

The man sighed out a long held breath, "Then I, Mutsu number 05 will be there to support you." I gasped as something rough but not uncomfortably so and moist pressed against my lips. I felt something on pull on my essence and pull a little away from me. It was then that a saw a large flash of light that extended out and push Mutsu even more into the action. These pillars of light broke out and spread out making my eyes widen. From my spot I couldn't see much else but the pillars turned into wings and faded away.

"From now and until the end."

I wiped my mouth and spat to the side. Hopefully Mutsu is the only male sekirei I react to because if not... I shiver at that thought of it.

* * *

Main Protagonist's Nest of Sekirei: Karasuba(Winged), Uzume(Reacting), Haihane(reacting), Mutsu(Winged)

A/N: Man I love the fact that gaining Mutsu turns people off. It's sort of funny. But with the coming storm Mutsu plays a crucial part to steer the tides.

Thanks for reading.


	6. The Smiling Monster

Chapter 6: The Smiling Monster

"Where are we going?" Came a question from my second Mutsu who was walking a pace and a half to my left. The man was beginning to make me nervous with how much his eyes wandered every which way as if something is going to jump out at us. He appears ready to spring on anything that threatens me.

So far I've been monitoring the changes between the both of us from his winging and so far I haven't felt anything compared to Karasuba and I. Maybe when the genders are alike the alterations are dissimilar. I know with him I could hear a few of his thoughts when his wings spread but they weren't possessive and domineering like with Karasuba. His was more like what a Samurai would say to his Lord interesting enough. I think the future might be quite eventful between him and I because I don't like the concept of a samurai. A ronin is much more my alley.

"First, I need you to settle down," I responded in the same tone he used for me. "A monster isn't going to jump out of the shadows and attack us." I'd sense it from a mile off if it was and then I'd kill it.

"You're the one that got away," he answered my unspoken questions that I didn't even know I had. I couldn't guess why he was on edge after what we did but now I know is because he's looking out for Karasuba. I forgot to tell him that Karasuba and I are bonded together but maybe I'll keep that to myself for now, because from what he told me of her during our walk for the last hour, is that. Karasuba is a hunter not just a blood thirst super monster that I suspected she was on the outside. I am not sure about the inside though. Once she picks up your scent she stalks and shadows you like an animal on the hunt. I dare say she appeared as a mad black dog in my imagination with the way he described her. He's not wrong, being why I didn't correct him, but he's also only telling me what's only skin deep. There's more to her than just that.

I sighed and rose my hand up to one of the medallions I put on from my knapsack. I felt a bit of my barrier break and so decided to equip a bit of fortifications. The charm will help keep the darkness and the unseen away. The pentagram with the celestial cross in the center works well with the majority of them within me and that's enough to get by until I adapt to these bonds. I'd say it might take at least a month to adapt in a way that renders its effects null and void. I just have to be patient until that time.

I cast the thoughts out for the moment with my hands in my pockets walking to a bench on the side of the road. I found who I was looking for in no time at all. She was out and about most likely in the same situation as me with nowhere to go or stay. I've kept tabs on her movements through the city and so far she's been moving from one place to the next without rest like a lone wanderer without a purpose. I could sense that maybe now was the time to approach and see what she wanted instead of follow through with earlier plans, for now.

I planned to head north toward a more quiet part of this city and I just so happened to see her along the way on a roof of all things. Sort of how I would expect she was sitting on the edge looking out to the city from her high point which cemented the whole birds of a feather thing that these Sekirei seem to trend. Mutsu can jump up twenty stories with ease meaning he can "lift off" much like birds can... I met Uzume on a high building along with Kazehana on high roof tops resting. I almost mistaken Kazehana for Uzume for their mannerisms are alike. Karasuba lives on one of the highest floors in the city overlooking the city and it doesn't bother her. Heights and sekirei go hand in hand.

These sekirei, true to the name, can soar and perch in high places: Adding that to the codex.

This one was sitting on a railing like life didn't really matter. It was all a stream that she decided to flow with it. More lost than a baby fawn without its doe. She was looking out to the east in the direction of that place. The hospital is in that general direction from where she's sitting. She was thinking still but I couldn't blame her.

Sekirei are lost without and ashikabi and it is their only goal to find this fated one and bond with him or her: another entry into the codex under the name Kazehana.

Kazehana was firm on this theory and all but I am not so sure. It will be hard for me to fall for Karasuba because shes not one to love. From what I've deduced already is that she is a creature of action and instinct not emotion. She's not going to proclaim that she loves anything and at most say she tolerates it until she herself destroys it. I'd have to work with that one to get her to change to a much lighter side of life but I have time. We both do.

Mutsu is a man and I don't see anything "romantic" coming to fruition between us. We've both made this clear with one another and I prefer it this way. Maybe the "love" between us will be of a different sort. I've never know camaraderie in the way to feel concern for anyone else's plight unless I owed them in some way. Maybe this will change in time but I sincerely doubt it.

I can't feel concern anyway, after all I need to have emotions in the first place in order to love and I killed my emotions many years ago. I am not one for feelings and yes there is a difference between emotions and feeling. I can feel like I should be happy to get a present but can't really embraces the emotions behind happiness. It sometimes I feel like I am soulless but that's only because I don't have a human soul anymore; I don't even remember if I did in the first place.

I can feel for things but placing an emotion for it will be difficult. I believe the sekirei bond will be a waste on me but I'm "destined" to be tied to someone else. I won't be alone anymore and this disturbed me.

For Mutsu it doesn't really matter if we are emotionally connected. Mutsu told me all he wanted was to be needed, not loved. Not wanted but needed which is much larger of a request than most assume. Was this the same for all the others? I doubt it is for Karasuba but how about the ones being released. For Uzume or Kazehana? Not for Kazehana. Kazehana, by the sound of it, wishes to be loved and to love. Her speech about how my and Mutsu's love will be eternal and everlasting and can be said about any other sekirei in the city that finds an ashikabi. I doubt this without question, because a human being is a savage and greedy animal. If given more power than their station allows they grow cocky, relentless, and become power hungry fiends that are best put down before the worst can transpire.

I can think of a selfish man blessed with a beautiful woman with equally amazing powers and total obedience to him would not be able to help but abuse it to no end. Both her and her powers.

What if Uzume were to be tied to a man or worse a woman. Women can be just as cruel as their male counterparts and in some cases even more so. The woman that she was going to join with was Chiho though and that would have been a waste. Chiho would have died in time and Uzume would have followed in kind without her bond mate. I'm still alive after breaking my bond only because I had my mission to keep me going. I might have ended up a dry up shell and died a couple days after she died and a part of me followed her into the abyss.

What if it happened to Mutsu? The man wants to be needed but what if the wrong person "needed" him and abused his power? The result could be catastrophic. Mutsu is not one to take a physical or mental blow from anyone but he will be compelled to follow his master's word because "sekirei are beings of love" as Kazehana told me. A strong sekirei in the wrong hands is dangerous, Mutsu being one of them. That's one reason I accepted bonding with him.

The same can be said about Karasuba. I wanted to kill her but I found that a waste. What man in this city could control her and her tendencies? Natsuo maybe only because he prefers the company over men over women, which makes little sense to me. It's always been the same in the animal kingdom for human, monster, and demons alike. One man and one female consummates their mating ritual with a result of baring child as their legacy. I suppose it would take a man like that to even tolerate her in the way to understand his position as a "meatsack" in her eyes. A man that understands that if he dies so does she. When the life of an animal is put on the platter to be served that animal will do its upmost to get off. Karasuba will do just that, bend just to save herself if this sekirei thing is how Kazehana explains it.

"Ah, I see now." Mutsu looked up to the roof of the building with an even expression on his face. "Careful, she's a fugitive and wanted by MBI… and maybe more trouble than its worth," I muttered under his breath. Must be another one he's familiar with like with Kazehana and Karasuba. He's pretty spot on when it came to her because she looks like more trouble than a man should be allowed to handle.

A fugitive wanted by MBI? That's a new one. What did she do to earn the ire of MBI? If she is a fugitive then why does she wander around as if nothing was wrong? There's more to this than I first thought because MBI has the time, the funds, and the resources to track this woman down and yet she's wandering around freely. With the control MBI has over the city and their black dog they have yet to find one lost bird in a flock of six or seven. That does not speak well of their power or maybe they have plans for her. If they really wanted to she would have been captured by now.

Minaka is a slippery snake in the shadow of the hawk awaiting his moment to strike so he has something planned for her. If that is the case then this one is more valuable than you would think.

"If you wing her the burden on her shoulders will fall on yours." In more ways than one I'm sure. Not all of it will be unpleasant if I have her persona saved correctly.

"Mutsu," I looked back to the man with a posed face. "The burden on my shoulders outweighs any that you or any other sekirei in this city could even implement upon me." I clenched my fists remembering a couple things from my time. I took a breath to calm the hurricane.

Mutsu placed a hand on my shoulder. "I believe you, but that is why I am here. I will carry anything you can't." I looked into the male sekirei's focused greyish brown eyes and saw truth in them. He'd support me like he is now. This isn't familiar to me but it's not troublesome.

I nodded and responded with a firm "Thank you."

"Anything," he declared.

'Anything'? That's what he said. What does he mean by that? That he's willing to do anything? Anything is possible? He can defeat anything that threatens me or his kin? I'm not sure but I'm sure I'll figure him out in the coming however long we will be joined.

We continued closer and the woman who has yet to notice me and stopped at the bench and chairs behind in front of the building. "I suppose we have to go up again."

"Indeed." Mutsu crossed his arms and walked past me. "I can carry you if you wish Ashikabi-sama."

"No need," I waved my hand, "we can take the slow way up. She needs her time to think anyway." She knows I'm near just like I knew she was near. This tether of ours is nothing new to me, only its implications.

"Very well."

We walked through the double doors inside to the sight of a couple doors, clear hallways, and the smell of shame. It sort of reminds me of a brothel.

"Evening!" A man jumped in front of us with a strange expression on his face. It was chipper or for a better word too happy if you ask me. It was sort of unnerving and I think Mutsu agreed with me. "Welcome, are you both together?"

Mutsu and I looked at each other and shrugged. "Yes," Mutsu answered for both of us.

"Ohhh that is nice! I guess you're here for a room?" The man got a little too close to my face when he said that.

"I…" I tried to speak but the man quickly interrupted me.

"Well then!" The man took my hand and Mutsu's in his own hands then persisted to pull us both to a counter. "The normal rate for a room is 5000 yen for one night but for you two love birds I'll give ya 4000."

I rose an eyebrow. "Excuse me sir but we are not…" I got cut off as the man rapidly once more when he shook his head.

"No, no, there is no need to be shy. I haven't seen such a match in here for so long to please enjoy."

"But sir..." I caught a key in my hands and looked at the heart shaped thing on the ring.

"The suite for you two," the happy man winked, "enjoy yourself."

I blinked and shook my head with a soft sigh. "Thanks I suppose."

"Enjoy yourself honey buns."

I shivered and walked away. That man's eyes followed us was we went up the stairs. Every second I tossed the key up in the palm of my hand. "That was strange." I tossed the key back and Mutsu caught it with a deep frown.

"Strange is a good word I suppose," he scoffed.

"It has to be. That man thought we were a couple. That matched of all things."

"Coming into a love motel like this together has that effect." A love hotel? What is she doing on top of a place like this? I may be ignorant of current times and how they work but I know a house of debauchery when I smell one.

"Should have seen it coming. All of those Japanese girl and boys thought the same the man at the counter does as well," I growled with my fist clenched. "What was with him as well?" I questioned. The Wayne acted was unlike anything I'm accustomed to.

"I wouldn't sit on it," he advised and I listened. It doesn't matter.

I grunted and caught the key as it was thrown back to me. "Think we should stay here?" I joked and Mutsu caught on with a roll of his eyes.

"No, these places usually have hidden cameras every which way."

I didn't know what a camera was all that much I just know it can copy images, I think. With how little time I had taking information of his place from one girl I found it all fragmented and almost worthless. If there are these things hidden away it's best we leave soon.

We reached the door that leads to the roof trying to ignore the sounds I heard from every other room we passed. When I tried to open the door I found it locked. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my lock picking set.

"I can take care of that," Mutsu offered.

"By kicking the door down?" I countered. His silence was all I needed. "This building isn't ours to break and I'll respect the possessions of another until given reason not to." You respect a man's territory and that man will respect yours, and if he doesn't just cut off the hand he used to offend you with. In my history I murdered a man for breaking a vase in my safe house. I didn't kill him, I murdered him, all for a vase. I sometimes imagine what I might have done if he had taken even a gold coin from me. I might have just made it quick for stealing from me but he had to break a priceless vase I stole from the Forbidden City in China after all the work in put into getting it. All while trying to escape. I would have let him go because he couldn't get anything in time but he had to break the vase.

"Hm," Mutsu hummed and stepped back away from me as I worked giving me much needed space to fiddle with this lock. Sadly this wasn't the usual three or four tumbler lock. Its much more advanced. Its almost to the point that my pick won't even work for this door. I clicked my tongue and instead resulted to Od manipulation. With just a sip of Od flowing from my sea of my soul through my matrix on my left arm I can alter the mechanism in the lock in a way that turns it into a simple three tumbler lock. With my coat on to encase my Od and my glove on my left hand Mutsu wouldn't be able to see the aura radiating off my arm.

In just a couple moments the lock clicked and I pushed the door to the roof open. "And done," I murmured before pocketing my lockpicking set and standing back up to my feet. I made sure to wave my hand over the lock to alter it back to its original form. I walked up to the railing I saw her at but found it empty. I looked around from the woman. I looked back, left, and right. I could feel her aura around me and yet I could pinpoint her exact location. I have to admit, she hid herself well but I haven't survived this long without being able to find someone like her near me.

"Let me guess," I felt a pair of arms wrapping around my neck and something soft mashing against my back. "Your spying on me aren't ya?" Silky white sheets surrounded me falling from the sky. If they aren't to your flanks or below you that left only one place. Above.

"Coming down from the sky like an angel on top of me and you call me the spy."

"That's what I told you."

"That is what you told me." I repeated.

I heard the woman behind me giggle as her right hand caressed my left cheek. "You know I am sort of happy I am reacting to you." I felt Uzume rest her chin on my shoulder and sigh rubbing against my back and rubbing my opposite shoulder holding me like if she were to let go I could fade away. "You actually gave me time to think. Thank you for that. It gave me time to talk to Chiho again today and ask her what she thought of you. I was surprised to hear that you offered to visit her to keep her comfortable."

"I am seeing a 'but' coming."

"But I also wanted to prove something." I nodded and felted her hands fall from my shoulders to her sides. Uzume walked away to the fence of the roof and sat on the metal edge that came up maybe three feet. She sighed and turned back to the city in the veil I remember seeing her in when I first met her.

I sighed as well and leaned on the fence she was perched on. We stayed in the quiet city atmosphere and I mainly stayed quiet do to give Uzume time to catch up to her thoughts. A woman during times when everything is coming down in one way or another need time to themselves or so I heard.

Since I have a moment myself I can think on the older sekirei I have met in this city and possible men or women of note.

I woke up in a place with flying metal birds in the distance wearing only my current equipment. Then when I tried to leave the proper way it seems that I alarmed a powerful group here. A woman name Takami Sahashi met me in a holding room. With her was the blood reeked woman Karasuba. I was interrogated for small information on my background which I couldn't answer right away. I ran away from the women but that Karasuba caught me. In my tired and weakest state I am not surprised I almost got caught. I sacrificed my coat to blind her and give me time to escape.

In time I fell to my wounds that were not fully healed yet and saved by Uzume. She transported me from where I was to the hospital that her previous ashikabi to be happened to reside. I'm unsure on how they did it but they kept me hidden from the doctors and nurses of that hospital long enough for me to get back on my feet. I conversed with Chiho for a time with the mindset to pay her back with life like she did me and the same extends to Uzume as well.

After that I went to MBI to get my coat and key back from Karasuba of who had promised to kill me again and again. I don't hold grudges on people that try to kill me, most of the "friends" I acquired in the years were previously my worst enemies. Karasuba from what I could gather seems obsessed with fighting and killing anything she can sink her blade into it, but it seems she doesn't like to kill what can't fight back or is too cowardly to do it. She seemed to be satiated at the moment she and I met again and I learned she's the way she is for a reason. She wasn't born that way.

Karasuba is an interesting character that I look forward to seeing again.

Then there is that Takami woman I accidentally checked out in the elevator down. She caught me and in the end I got an identity so I can use scanners without tripping alarms and use the services here in the city. After that I met the girl above me and took a shine to her. I have prided myself on my ability to see a person's true character and Uzume was alright.

Mutsu the serious type of all the sekirei I have met. He thinks rationally and judges things before action accordingly. Kazehana is beautiful and the most mature looking woman I have met so far that walks with a grace that most other sekirei I have met seem to lack. Her taste in alcohol as well I see as a sort of detriment on her character. Her reason being was that her heart broke and so went on a journey for true love to replace her old one but instead turned into an alcohol tasting tour. The desire to lose one's self like that is intolerable but still her age showed. She's smart and insightful and can read a person from within almost as easily as I can. She's not to be underestimated.

Kagari was the second male sekirei I have met and was more of a pretty boy than Mutsu. Where Mutsu has unkempt shaggy hair, dresses in strange clothing, carries a sword everywhere, and has a very antisocial glare on everyone he sees; this is the opposite of Kagari of who looks to be a "gentleman" for this sort of time. He's dying and knows this and yet seems to do nothing about it. He accepts his fate and the pain that it will bring.

They are truly all one-of-a-kind.

After I met these sekirei I decided not to kill them all and see where this little game takes me. Karasuba is my sekire for a reason and I think it's to help her. Mutsu is also my sekirei and I believe its to help me stay afloat. He's the support and I can see that his insight will play a vital role. Both him and Uzume will.

Speaking of which I didn't notice the woman move because now she was standing in front of me examining me. I blinked as she narrowed her eyes at me dangerously giving me the thought that I might have done something wrong.

"What?" I asked and saw her eye twitch which is never a good sign.

"Were you not listening to me?"

I blinked a few times as I thought through the subconscious memories I have to see if she did talk to me. So long ago I mastered the art of ignore but informed. It's an art any man would kill to possess. I don't need to pay attention to you to hear what you say. It's an ability I have had for years now and it has saved me many times when women are involved. This is one of those times.

"Yes Uzume I was, am."

"Oh, then what did I say?"

I took a minute to go through the memories I had for even though I don't listen but heard at the same time it takes a minute to go through it all. "You were telling me some about yourself as well as the reaction you felt. You asked me if I was an ashikabi and the answer is yes. You asked me last what I thought of you and you got a little aggravated at the fact I didn't answer this question like the rest of them." Uzume blinked and stood dumbfounded at my answers and to the fact that Yes I was indeed listening to her and not ignoring her as she first thought. Uzume looked out to the city again.

"Do you wish me to leave?"

"What?" Uzume looked down to me and I returned with with my hood down which caused her eyes to widen.

"If you want I could leave and give your more time other that taking up more of your time I have already." Uzume looked up. Far up enough to force her own hood/veil back.

"I…" She went quiet still conflicted I suppose. I could feel her reaction and the way she was resisting it the best she could so she doesn't jump and rape me possibly. She needed more time so I pushed off the fence and nodded to her before leaving. Or so I thought until I felt a hand on my shoulder. The hand was tight and the grip was firm so I couldn't move without some sort of uncomfortable reaction from me. Uzume's eyes burned into the back of my head and the grip tightened when I tried to move.

Mutsu narrowed his eyes at Uzume and his grip on his sheath tightened from the opening to the stairs where he hide the entire time. I took his reaction to memory for later. It seems even though his emergence and my becoming his ashikabi was put on hold he felt protective of me.

Uzume noticed him and smiled softy at Mutsu. "Bro, how are you doing?"

The man grunted and let the grip on his sheath loose to a light hold. His stance as well lost the aggression it had at first to his more lax one with his arms crossed, eyes closed, head nodded down, and his back leaned on some sort of surface. "Good… sister."

Brother and sister? Are they siblings? I looked back and forth from the two of them and noticed a fair amount of features they both shared with one another. Though the eyes are different a but they still share a brown coloration. The ears and the nose are the same along their cheeks. I'd say they have a like parent instead of having both the same parent, if that's possible. Can sekirei have siblings? Of course they can, I berated myself for my forgetful nature. Those two twins from before are obviously sisters so the thought of sekirei outside of them having siblings isn't too farfetched. But to think that these two are related to one another. I could be over thinking it but these two do seem familiar with one another on a more personal level.

Uzume looked down from me to Mutsu with realization flashing over her eyes. "Wait, you said you are an ashikabi already right?" I nodded. "Is big bro your sekirei?!"

Mutsu nodded when Uzume looked over to him. She gawked but recovered quickly. "Wow. What are the odds?"

"Yes well, Uzume you seem to need a moment so…" I tried to move but she kept me still.

"Hey!" She cut me off and walked around to face me with a warm smile. Slowly her hands came up and cupped my cheeks. Her breathing was fast and her legs flimsy as if she was seconds from falling. She eyes so full of lust and the extreme smell of arousal forced me to flush a little. I'm reacting accordingly it seems.

"What sort of girl am I again?" She panted pulled me down to her slowly.

"I-I," I stuttered unable to answer.

"I'm the sort of girl that hates to be kept waiting... and I've been waiting for too long already. Haven't you?" She whispered in my ear and like that my rational mind waned.

I took her hips in hand and Uzume took my lips as her own. My hands then snaked around to her back pulling her comfortably toward me. Wings of whitened gold soared from her back making Uzume's eyes close whether from the light or the kiss, I do not know. Uzume moaned into the kiss I tried to keep chaste only for her to deepen it. To a feel her pushing against my lips and and meeting me evenly was exhilarating. Our tongues tugged on each other much like I felt the tug on my energies again. Not that much but enough to make me wonder just what it was for and where it all went.

I followed the current and looked into the powers that swirled around in her body. Her energies changed and shifted to be more like my own. It was like her body was readapting itself to better suit my own. Then in a blast released from her back somehow empowering her like adding oil to a finger flame. I frowned at this because it seems that this destined one talk is not the case, because if a sekirei wanted an ashikabi then they would have best try and find one compatible enough to match them not become compatible enough for the ashikabi. The Sekirei is adapting to me but the change wasn't drastic. It was subtle so maybe that is just how it works.

Uzume leaned up and smiled. "Uzume number 10 is yours. Forever and ever." I nodded and stood up. Uzume yelped as I completed my action with her still on my chest. She tightened her hold on my neck as I picked her up in bridal carry. Uzume smirked and poked my chest. "Wanting to carry you prize home now?"

I mused and sat her down making her look at me strangely.

"Hey?" She reached out to touch my shoulder but Mutsu intervened. Uzume looked up to her senior as he shook his head and looked back to me.

"Let him think."

"But about what?" Mutsu watched me as I paced with my chin cupped.

"Something about the emergence that has him confused."

Uzume sighed in confusion, "That gives me nothing to go on what is so confusing about the process?"

Mutsu shrugged, "I haven't the faintest idea but he noticed something and is thinking on it."

"So you're saying I was a terrible kisser or something?" Mutsu rose an eyebrow.

I looked back and answered instead of Mutsu. "No Uzume it wasn't the kiss and this has nothing to do with you, maybe." I walked to the two while fiddling with the hilt of my sword in thought.

"What were you thinking about?"

"You mentioned me carrying you to where I live correct?" I paced to the other side of the two. "You see, about that, I currently don't have a place to live right now." Uzume didn't say anything at my confession. Neither did Mutsu even though he knew all along that this was one of my many problems.

"And, you need a place to stay right?" I thought of the very building we are on but crossed that notion out so I nodded my head instead. "I might know a place you could stay."

"Another thing as well Uzume." I said quickly making her sigh.

"You're broke I guess?"

I clenched my teeth and shook my head. "You see I have ways to pay but it is in the form of…" I decided it was easier to show her instead of beating around the damn bush. I reached into my pocked to tossed a gold drachma at her which the caught in a swipe.

As she examined it her eyes boggled open, "Is this gold!?"

"Yes and currently all I have is gold, silver, and gems on my person and not much paper money like you all use, so paying might be difficult."

"Bullshit!" She tackled me down to my back and straddled me on my lap with gold drachmas for eyes the turned into diamonds then rubies. I don't know how she did that but I classified it as one of those women things because Kuu always did the same damn thing.

"You are coming with me!" Before I could respond she gripped my collar and almost effortlessly picked me up to my feet. I was then dragged away by the sultry dressed woman and Mutsu followed after a shrug.

* * *

This bank thing I was now leaving had me confused. I just left it all to Uzume because I didn't know anything about this sort of thing and I gave up when the man started talking about interest rates and root accounts or some other shit I couldn't understand. All I know is that I have a card that I put in a sliding thing then punch in a couple numbers to get what I want to buy. That much I understand.

The people at that bank stored all my gold, gems, jewels, and etc in a vault of sort where it was all scanned with some beaming light show that quantified the price for all I had on me. It came out close to a billion in yen. I was questioned on how I was able to produce so much gold and what not from such a small bag. I was going to respond truthfully or evade the question, but Mutsu did a bit of talking in my instead. He came up with the excuse that I'm a high maintenance employee for MBI testing out a prototype storage system that digitizes matter into electronic ions that stores weightlessly within the "common" looking bag I held. A special field within and surrounding the bag response to electronic signals within my body to "tell" the bag what to release when I reach in or open the containment field lip. To my shock and confusion on anything that was said, the bank workers believed it.

Uzume giggled profusely from behind me during the entire explanation Mutsu gave and I was left in the dark and happy I was there. I feel if I tried to understand anything he said I'd get a headache from here to hell and back. While this was true some extent that still was a lie. It's not technology, that's not how it works, but I let sleeping dogs lie.

Once everything was stored away, jewelry and half of the precious metals save in a safety box, how it's a safety bow I don't know, Uzume took out money and told me I would need it for where we are going. I am not sure just where the hell we are going but in the end what does it matter. Uzume knew a place we could stay that was nothing like where I found her and in under an hour Mutsu and I found our way to the northern and also the quietest part of the city. I liked it much more than any other place in this god forsaken city.

Soon, while held by the hand, Uzume dragged Mutsu and I to this place called Izumo Inn. That's what she called looked alright but at the same time I was reluctant to go inside and so was Mutsu ominously enough. That only cemented the fact that maybe we should go in. Mutsu was the more rational compass between the two of us so if he was uneasy going to this place it would only make my twice as uneasy. Uzume urged me forward to the door with an expectant gaze.

"Come on koibito, go on and knock." I looked back to the door and bite my lip. "She won't bite… much." I heard the last part and had my sword at the ready just in case.

I rose my hand and knocked strongly on the door. I heard the sound of a slight shuffling inside and then foot steps that got progressively louder as time went by. I sighed as I waited with my arms crossed.

"Just give her a minute." Uzume said.

"Or two." Mutsu grunted.

"Or three," I sighed with a scratch of my head. I counted the amount of seconds it took the woman to come to the door was at least 142 so between two and three minutes. It may be late at night but still that's long time it took to answer the door. This already made me not like her.

The door opened and my face was already blank and empty and I uncrossed my arm when the woman noticed me and smiled in a way the pissed me off but I can't be bitter. No I cannot be bitter or angry at the light smile a woman the stinks of blood can have. I almost wanted to cover my nose, because unlike Karasuba whose scent is more of a natural thing, she has accepted her current nature within herself and came into terms with it, but this woman smells of masked blood like she is trying to bury her past full of remorse for whatever reason.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at time woman but like I said I cannot be bitter or angry at the lightly smiling woman that stinks of masked blood and remorse. I took a deep breath and exhaled before I lost my mind with the constant eye scan she used on all three off us. Mutsu frowned and crossed his own arms the moment I uncrossed mine. Uzume smiled slyly and waved at the woman and greeted with a "Hiya Miya," before she settled down.

The woman, this "Miya," is a beautiful woman I have to admit. A slender yet… shapely woman with fair-skin and brown eyes. She has waist-length purple hair, and not the most exotic color I have seen so far, with shorter bangs in a hime-style. A traditional miko was her choice of attire that consists out of a purple hakama, a white haori with a sash-like belt, and a white ribbon to partially hold her hair in place in the back. If I could guess her race it was… actually, I don't really don't know but I know a Japanese woman when I see her and this one is just that. She was also a little too… perfect with her body, facial features, and the calm way she stood in front of me. Most people are a little intimidated by my presence or at least cautious around me. This one isn't.

I sighed when she attempted to answer Uzume and I myself said, "Evening Innkeeper you may call me Otieno D. Jaeger." I stepped over to the right, "This is Mutsu my much need advisor and moral compass in harsh times." A faint smile appeared on his lips but it faded away just as fast as it came. I moved left next and blocked Mutsu from her field of view. "This I can assume you already know is Uzume, a trouble maker that keeps me on my toes but an angel through and through."

"Hey that was mean," She whined playfully. "I'm not that much trouble," she chuckled.

I kept my attention on the women in front of me and waited for her response. "Before you start can you please not call me by any of your honorifics for I do not like them despite of my current place of standing?" The woman looked back to Uzume making her smile nervously and I stepped in her line of sight with a steeled gaze on the woman forcing her attention to be placed back on me.

"I see, well you must be very good friends with her then if you can explain her so easily," she spoke but even her tone of voice was false. She's wears a good mask to hide it but birds of a feather. I know her kind know and I know I have to watch what I say and do closely. That's how I am.

"That's harsh Miya. I may be a trouble but what I do doesn't make me troublemaker."

"Oh, of course, my apologies." She said in a fake almost mocking tone of innocence. I rose an eyebrow to it but Uzume laughed it up like it was a regular kind of thing. I let it go… for now.

"But any way this is Otieno and he is my man." Uzume hugged me with a bright smile then separated away. "And don't mind his crappy mood he is a little… different as times." I nodded to the Innkeeper in agreement with Uzume's assessment.

"I see, well any friend of Uzume is welcome here. Please come in."

I nodded and let Uzume enter first then Mutsu. I saw a slight trade of glances between Miya and him as he entered, glances I took note of. I entered last and left my boots at the front entrance. A moment later I was sitting at a table waiting for the woman to join us.

I crossed my arms and said, "I don't like her that much."

"You and me both honestly." Mutsu backed me up.

Same can't be said about Uzume. "Miya is a nice person guys so give her a chance."

"I might if she tells me how many men she killed," I retorted but clenched my teeth because that was a thought that came out by accident.

"W-what do you mean?" Uzume said trying to play it off poorly.

"Blood never washes away no matter how many times you wash Uzume and that woman reeks of it. Almost as much as Karasuba," I growled making her wince. I saw it and sighed, "Never mind it. I guess it is in the past."

"Or is it?" Mutsu said peering his eyes open slightly from his nodded position.

I chuckled, "True words Mutsu, so what's the story with her?"

"I told you before, Ask her yourself." He did tell me that didn't he. We are in the north.

"Scared to entice her wrath on you?" I taunted with a smirk.

Mutsu opened his eyes fully and glared at me, "Yes."

I lost my smile in an instant and my urge to leave grew to a boiling point. "Do you advise we leave?"

"Wait, what are you talking about? I mean we just got here."

"That is true but you don't know her like I do Uzume." I looked over to the direction Miya is still in to see if she was still in the kitchen making tea or whatever but was coming toward us slowly.

"That's bullshit she…"

"Uzume!" I rose my voice making the woman's eyes shoot to me and the Innkeeper quickened her pace toward us. "Sit down."

"But I…"

"Uzume… sit down." I repeated and the girl frowned deeply but relented.

Miya appeared to see all of us still sitting quietly together. I nodded to her, Uzume got over her shock and waved, and Mutsu didn't acknowledge her.

"I see you have returned Innkeeper, are you finished with your thing?" Miya blinked and looked around with a gentle smile.

"The tea is almost ready so don't worry."

"That is good but you didn't have to make us tea Innkeeper."

"That may be but what sort of host can I be if I don't treat you with something to make you comfortable."

My eye twitched, "If you wish to do that Innkeeper please sit so we may talk about business."

"Please at least call me Asama or Miya Otieno-san." Like I asked her not to before she still used those honorifics.

I shook my head, "No Innkeeper the nickname will stay for now. I hope you don't mind."

The woman giggled, "Of course not." The Innkeeper sat down for us at the head of the table so this discussion could begin. "Also one more thing before we talk. Your swords," she said with a smile. Her eyes flowed to every single area I had a hidden weapon except at my wrist and left shoulder. She only brought up what was "visible" on purpose.

"What about my swords?"

"I would ask that you would not use them indoors please and to refrain from using it to threaten anyone while in the confines of Maison Izumo."

That makes sense. A sword and do a fair amount of damage to household appliances and furnishings. It bad manners to draw a weapon in another's home as well. "That is acceptable Innkeeper."

The woman nodded in approval for my ease of answer. "I am quite surprised really to see someone carry a nodachi at this day and age." She eyes the blade in my back.

"Well I am sure we all carry something with us that most wouldn't understand this day and age anyway Innkeeper." I retorted and the woman slightly narrowed her eyes then got her late composure back.

"Now Uzume told me that you are her man, is this true that you are in a relationship with her?"

I looked over to Uzume who regarded me nervously then back to the Innkeeper. "In a manner of speaking. She and I have an unbreakable bond with each other making her as much as mine as I am as much as hers. If anything were to befall her I'd be there to catch her and then take care of whomever pushed her.." Uzume appeared next to me and hugged me tightly with my face nearly buried in the valley of her breast. I stayed as neutral as possible despite how much of this happiness I felt at the moment. Most guys would kill to be in my shoes after all.

"Ah, I love my man! He's such a terrible romantic."

Miya giggled but covered her smile with her sleeve, "I can see that."

I sighed at the blatant display of teasing. "Can we move this along?"

"Ho ho is that a blush I see on your face hmm?" Uzume beamed with my cheeks duped in her hands. Since I met Miya I have tried to give her a face that is unreadable and show that I am a person not to be underestimated but it seems that Uzume is doing her best to ruin that. If the teasing game continues then I can play it use as much.

"Oh I see my man is a little YAHH!" Uzume yelped as she jumped off of my lap and landing on her rear. Uzume glared back at me, "You… You, why did you do that?"

"Hmm, whatever do you mean Uzume? You must have wanted off bad to do that," I responded akin to how the innkeeper did before. Uzume growled with a flushed face and pouted. Mutsu looked at the scene then his eyes brightened when he saw I was still doing a pinching motion with my fingers under the table. Uzume rubbed her butt and sat back down next to me.

"Now shall we?" I gestured to Miya and she took the go ahead.

"All teasing aside I guess we should deal then. But before we start I would like to know a little about you."

"Understandable. I'm an unknown an duos wouldn't wish so house an undesirable despite who they are affiliated with." Innkeeper blinked in surprised that faded away as quickly as it came.

"Your are right and you've shown me a good deal about your character already. Please continue."

"Well, there is not much to tell. I am a man of many talents and professions and some I wish not to talk about. I traveled around much in my life with men and women I called family but all good things come to an end right?"

I asked specifically to Miya and though she hesitated her answered with a soft, "Yes I suppose so."

"In my travels I worked for a great many people and grew a small fortune." Uzume snort at the "small" of my statement but I ignored her. "I have done many things in my time of traveling and through some twist of fate I ended up here."

"I see, so what are you talents and professions?"

"That's the question worth a thousand gold Innkeeper."

Mutsu snort this time and Uzume smirked.

"I come here today by the recommendation of Uzume to stay here and live in the city until it is time for me to move on." The landlady took her time thinking on my little short story with nothing to show what exactly she was thinking. I took a guess and reach for my wallet. "If money is an issue I am willing to pay for myself, Mutsu, Uzume, and any other in my charge that you will allow to live here. I will take full responsibility for the actions for my companions as well as ensure nothing befalls your establishment."

"I see… well I suppose I should help you get comfortable since you are so willing to take responsibility for Uzume like that. I commend you, I want you to know this."

"And the award for man of the hour goes to my Otieno." Uzume smiled at me and I returned a faint one to her.

I bowed my head slightly to the woman."Thank you Innkeeper but from what I have seen in this city so far you might regret allowing me to stay here. I might bring more in during my stay."

"That is fine is long as you obey the rules I have in place here and as you said "take responsibility' for your actions."

"And what are these rules?"

I ghostly smile appeared on her face, "Violence is strictly forbidden while in the Maison Izumo." That sounded fair after all you can't have a business with no walls. "Explicit relations are forbidden with in the walls as well." This one made my eyes widened but then again who wants to hear moans and groans from downstairs couples. That would be awkward. Uzume has different thoughts because she whined about no fun and adventure and what not. "Last is any form of derogatory language is to be kept out the door not in." There could be kids here and most don't like it when they learn words like that. I say they need to learn all they can no matter what it is but my morals are not that high.

"I can accept all of these. Is there anything else?"

Miya smiled. I guess here is always something else. "Of course, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are at set times of 8 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, and 6 in the evenings. To miss these times means you do not eat. It is that simple." This thing giggled. A shiver went up my spine at the sound of it. It's like the sound demon women would make when they had their way.

"I can accept that I suppose Innkeeper, is there anything else?"

"Only to show you to your room." I hope I don't regret coming here.

The room I shown that i would be living in was plain to say the least. I paid the Innkeeper a good night and she left me to my thoughts with a polite bow. I looked around to see that it lack so much in space that I wanted but this is better than nothing. I sighed and unclasped my coat. It fell to the floor with a clunk. I unlatched every bit of armor I had on and let it all fall as well to the floor. I placed my sword in the corner and unclipped the hidden blade on my left arm. I looked down to the gauntlet on my right arm that will never disappear and in truth I hope it never does. I let my shirt come off and then my pants. I was left half naked with only my boxer bottoms on. Thank the Europeans.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.**

I heard at my door and looked through it.

"Come in Uzume." I turned my back to the woman as she opened my door.

"Wow, its dark in here," she chuckled as the only light in the room originated from the hallway. I didn't even notice that I had the lights off. I heard a whistle all of the sudden.

"Eye candy this late. Heheheh, I sure am lucky," Uzume walked over to a small lamp in the corner and cut it on with a swift tug of the pull string.

"Tssk," I scoffed and looked back, "Close the door and I'll show you lucky."

A blush appeared on her cheeks and the door slip closed in seconds. I turned around and Uzume's eyes glazed over me. Her eyes literally raped my body as her red cheeks grew red all over. Suddenly her eyes stopped on my chest and then she gasped. She saw it. The scar on my chest where my heart should be. Uzume walked toward me and rose a hand to touch it. She hesitated and looked back up to me and I gave her a nod. Her cool fingers rubbed against my flesh of the large scar and then the second hand reached to the back. She trembled when she found the exit wound to match.

"W-what did this?"

"I am lucky like I said Uzume. Not many can survive what I have." Best show her these now instead of later.

"But what…"

I kissed Uzume's cheek and smiled. "Don't worry, it's in the past but the fact that you haven't told me what you wanted isn't." Uzume looked at the mark on my chest again but left it as is for now. Her eyes wandered to the clothing I have on the floor and the armor I wore underneath. Then they stopped at the thing on my arm.

"Why didn't you take that weird thing off?" I rose the gauntlet for her to see with a blade hidden underneath and shrugged. Usually I never slept without my blade on but seeing that a being of such power lives under this roof I don't really have a reason to be that vigilant.

"This thing is attached to me." I said but still moved to remove it. I touched two buttons and the gauntlet gave way with enough room for me to slip it off of my arm. I tossed it into the other hand and placed it with the rest of my effects.

"I-I see. What the hell is that?"

"Just a tool of the trade." I leaned on the wall nearest to me and crossed my arms. "So what does my beautiful sekirei need from me?"

"Uhh," she said and grunted at the same time trying to remember just why she did come to my room. I should count myself lucky to move into an inn and have a woman with me in the matter of minutes. Not a record for the fastest I have gotten a room and a woman seconds later but for a woman this beautiful it was a feat in my book. I leaned on the wall to my right getting comfortable. I can sort of see why Mutsu does it all the time. It's nice to have the added support during slow times.

"Ah," Uzume hit her fist into the palm of her hand in a way that means 'I got it' I would assume. "Now I remember," she said with a sly smile. Almost too sly at that. I remember whenever Kuu had that same sort of smile that means that I am in for two things. To be utterly fucked in the end or have more money in my pocket and less enemies to worry about. Usually it was the first one that happened and seeing that Uzume reminds me greatly of that woman I think I should be a little more cautious of this one. After all I just met her today and I don't even know her that well despite what I've listed under her profile. For all I know this might be a facade to lure me in a false sense of security.

Uzume frowned at me as if reading my mind and showing that I shouldn't feel what I feel but it is a habit. I don't trust. Not I don't trust easily it is I don't trust period. Man for many years since the beginning of time they have betrayed each other in every way possible. Even family have go against family for selfish things. To kill is an act of betrayal on another even if "justified" though is taking a man's life ever truly justified?

"Hey I ain't gonna do anything," her smile returned but had a bit of coyness to it this time. "Anything bad that is." That's and other thing. Good and bad. Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions when it comes to right and wrong. What isn't bad to her might just be bad to me and I don't plan on finding out tonight anyway.

"I was only wondering if you want to stay with me tonight Otieno."

"Stay with you? In your room?" Uzume nodded with that same Kuu grin making the answer obvious. Though I did think about it. I don't see the harm in sleeping with a little company for the first time in years. Uzume is a truly beautiful woman and any man would be honor to be in the same room with her let alone in bed together.

Huh? I just noticed that I can't stop complimenting her in my thoughts for some reason. These thoughts of mine are not really mine I know that for sure. I can feel something whispering in my ear telling me to get closer to Uzume. To let her have her way. It was telling me to kiss and caress her. These thoughts are very much like the symptoms of a Succubus' Allure. Its effecting my thoughts but since I have no emotions for it to latch onto its not as effective.

I shook my head slightly, "No thank you Uzume." The woman opened her mouth to protest but I gave her a look. A tired look that didn't want to deal with anymore of her antics for the day. A look that also said that my decision is final and any form of protest wouldn't work in the first place.

"I," she began but sighed before stepping back to the door. "Okay that's fine. I guess you need your space after all right?" I felt that voice in my head again telling me to reverse my decision but quickly I grabbed a hold of the presence and choked the life out of it. I won't allow some sort of power to have control over my mind or body. What I do, I do by my choice and no one else's. I did listen to the voice to a point though. I don't wish to kill any form of relationship between Uzume and I; before I can figure out this bond thing. Its mental effect is obvious but the physical is yet to come out. It's only been day. A really long day.

I pushed off of the wall and moved towards her. "Right," I answered simply making her smile brightly though I know it was fake.

"Well then I will see you tomorrow then." She turned to leave.

Before she went thought the door but I caught her wrist and gently reeled her in towards me. She drew her eyes to mine filled with surprise. Being this close to her I noticed just how alike our eyes are. Her are darkened brown like eyes just like my own; my human ones that is.

I rose her hand up and kissed to top of it. "I'll see you tomorrow…Angel."

Uzume blinked a couple times then gave real smile. "Okay." I rubbed her knuckles a little before letting go. Uzume took her hand back and held it to her chest. A small redden appeared on her cheek and I felt something in my back of my mind. It was nice feeling. Sunshine it the best way I can explain it. With something I have seen and what I think when I see it. It makes no sense but it feels good regardless. With that Uzume walked close to me and placed a kiss on my cheek. She waved at me before leaving out the door and closing it with a little more energy than before.

I sighed and almost fell back to the wall behind me. I was given a simple little room with only a small desk and nothing else within it. The innkeeper had to loan me one of those bedroll things for me to use until I can purchase some furniture or my room. Unlike the people here I'm not living by sleeping on the floor. A bed is what I deserve at the least.

Despite my thought I pushed my tired form off of the wall and undid that bed roll thing I never used before in my life and laid it out. The air felt sort of stale as if the room hasn't been aired in years or something but the difficultly of it breathing in this room wasn't as bad as the feeling I have on the back of my neck. It feels as if I am being watched but from the life forms I could see in this building no one was near me or my door.

Innkeeper was downstairs last I checked a minute ago. Mutsu was outside for some reason and Uzume returned to her room. Then there's the other one I haven't met yet. She's on the second floor with me but is in her own room. I was alone so why did I feel like eyes were on me at the moment? I'm being paranoid I suppose so I went back to fixing the bed roll and laid down over it. I felt the fatigue from today come back at me and found it hard to keep my eyes open. I let them close and like always the void took me.

* * *

Main Protagonist's Nest of Sekirei: Karasuba, Haihane(reacting), Mutsu, and Uzume

A/N: Done with another chapter. I honestly wanted to make it longer and add in the next morning but with the way the flow goes it was best to stop her for now. I could have kept going but felt it would have been better this way. Think the next one will be a bit longer though.

I like the thought of there being siblings outside of the Lightning Twins. I'd like to implement their being siblings between higher number sekirei and lower ones being why I made Uzume and Mutsu half-siblings in blood. I have plans for a couple more to include in but not sure what to go with. I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go.

To be honest Uzume was always one of my favorite character and her end always bothered me. I can't wait to start writing her in more interactions between her and the MC like I did Karasuba and him. Those two and the others that are coming as well.

By the way, If you like Claymore I have one of those as well. Give it a read if you're interested.

Thanks for reading.


	7. A New Morning

I woke up from a restless sleep feeling the same as when I fell asleep late night not too long ago. It was the sort of restless sleep that you have that the moment you fall you wake up a second later. I rolled over with a sudden urge to kill something or someone. My body was heavy and I mean extremely heavy for some reason. I leaned up or tried to because the weight was too much at the moment. Usually my body isn't like this in the morning but this isn't the first time I couldn't move the minute I woke up. It takes a minute for the body to wake up fully this early in the morning after all so I laid there waiting for the feeling in my arms and legs to come back.

I closed my eyes and knew that once I wake up there is no going back to sleep so instead I kept my mind on yesterday. I did much in the span of one day. I met and gained two sekirei though the so called emergence thing is still confusing to me. From what Mutsu told me it was used in conjunction with the reaction process. A sekirei would react to a human male or female in a way that seems like a sort of strong attraction that I couldn't make sense of. For Mutsu he just told me he was reacting and the only thing that made it a little obvious was his constant staring at either me or my lips which got to me after a while. He has a slight blush but it faded away after a minute as it nothing was there. The way he walked was a little faltered after a time but not too noticeable.

Then I have the reaction Uzume made. Her reaction was much more apparent than Mutsu's. She was red as a cherry, panting like a smoke stack, and falling over herself like a sex drunk or something. She pushed herself to me and took my lips by a storm. I could just barely understand just about anything about her and her reaction. I remember her stifling arousal that probably exceeded Karasuba and that woman was eager. It was enough to make me willing and I've hunted succubus before and never batted an eye. It was so bad she could just barely walk that I had to come and support her during the entire thing. The moment I was in her grasp she ensured that I couldn't escape. I was hers and she wanted me to know that. Both of them are domineering in their own way and I find that strangely… invigorating?

Uzume is the reincarnation of Kuu that is for damn sure. I have spent a long time hoping to escape that woman but it seems she is keen to follow me no matter where I go. That woman always kept me on my toes. Oh gods if she saw me now, and I mean if she even got a peek on me now, I'd never hear the end of it. She'd for sure take advantage of my vulnerability and immobility right now and have her way with my effects. I don't mean me but my gear, my money, my clothes, and anything else I have worth a king's ransom. The real reason I have my knapsack and it's designed the way it is because of her. She'd steal from the elderly without a care in the world.

I yawned lightly before getting to my feet in a sort of graceful manner though with how sore my legs and arms are from all the constant walking, running, and jumping, including holding off that woman Karasuba, I have just about had it for a month at the most. I just left one war for this situation. I must say I do have terrible luck even if I get myself a beautiful woman here or there as consequence. Then again one of those beautiful women is a sociopathic mad woman more blood addled than a Jäger suffering from The Fallout. The other is a near overwhelmingly clingy women with a loose end that can easily be used against her and now me plus is wanted by MBI as a criminal. I'm stacking on the weights right now but don't feel pressured yet. I feel this will change in time if I know women.

For now I suppose it was time to get up and do some form of exercise to start the morning up for a body that isn't well balanced is one that will fail you in the end. I have to sustain what I have or suffer from my own ignorance in the fact. I, with my black pants and comfortable dark grey shirt on, took Love and Hate in hand and made my way down stairs to the back yard. I doubt the Innkeeper will mind me using her little backyard area for my own wishes and maybe I can find a good area in the yard to make a work station of sort. In the past I have learned that having professions outside of that basic assassination, sabotage mission, or information gathering task you can make the mark you are on much easier because you can blend in more efficiently if you have a job. And the extra money you get as you go is a fitting bonus to mission pay.

I remember this one time I had to pose as a master chef in order infiltrate into a ruthless lord's castle to kill him. The man was paranoid and always watched his back at all times, especially during dinner. The man would switch his plates around like a deck of cards making it difficult to plan the poisoning but like most men they all have a pattern they use after a time and one of the servant girls there was nice enough after a little "persuasion" to tell me the pattern he took. I must say it was impressive because the man had a certain pattern used once a day per year and she knew exactly which plate was going to be his that day.

Like all plans there was a setback. The man decided to use the next day's pattern instead because he was more paranoid and smarter than I thought. Good thing I slipped the poison in all the meals, the catalysts in the drink, and the antidote in all the bread. Something he refused to eat for some reason. I would pay to have seen his face once more when his ate the mushrooms and drank the alcohol to trigger the poison reaction.

Priceless.

Speaking of priceless it seems that the space outside of the inn is larger than I first assumed. I started to check the boundaries for any suitable places to put traps or those camura things I have seen in MBI around the gates. From what I was able to gather these camura things are able to act as eyes from someone that sees what the thingy sees. I must say if I had some of those in early missions it would have made things a little bit easier. I've actually took notice of one or two in the hallway of the Inn, in the dining room, three in the kitchen, two at the outside porch, and who knows how many more. It wasn't hard to find them, I just had to follow use spirit sight to see the energy they radiate. These things send a signal almost akin to the echolocation of a bat or have wires that lead up. I can trace it later and get rid of the ones in my room as well.

A second building was outside in the backyard I noticed just as I started going through the movements my master taught me. I created mental projections of different monsters I've fought from the past and went through the moments I performed before to kill them. I always find a hole I didn't mean to create or notice a different way to evade that would have wasted just as much energy but left me unscathed. I know this method can only help with simulating the actual battle and the wounds from these "simulations" are quiet real but not life threatening. I rubbed the cut I sustained from the spike the flesh chimera used against me and felt the rough friction of the blood oozing out the cut. I wiped the blood away from my neck and the cut closed in seconds.

My attention turned from my foe as it barreled at me with a screech. I leaned to the left and twirled around bisecting the monster at the waist. I twisted back around and stabbed into its neck and brought my sword down until I stabbed the ground with the tip of Hate. My right arm was charging with Od during the entire confrontation so with a strong pulse fire flowed through my blade into the beast and engulfed it with fire from the inside out until it burst. My first hunt was that thing. Before I was even 14 it came to devour my soul and I didn't even know then what I know now. I killed it but almost died. I was in a coma for five days after that.

I sighed and lifted my sword up from the ground which was perfectly fine. I didn't actually cast anything after all it's all a projection and a training simulations. We are capable of reliving out hints and learning higher forms of wisdom and knowledge on our foe because of this capability unlocked from our minds. It's limited to what we saw and was he imagine I prefer to think everything is stronger than me but that doesn't stop me from realizing that the instinct of monsters aren't like humans'. They have limitations and we have barely scratched the surface.

My attention turned back to the building and curiosity got the best of me. I approached what looks to be the size of a house but made of metal on the outside. I rose Love and Hate up and sheath them into their scabbards and pulled them off my belt. This shack has one single door with two windows. The door wasn't locked making things much easier for me. The door opened out instead of sliding open which I found surprising but didn't let it stop me from seeing what was inside. As I stepped inside I noticed quickly that is was dark inside and not much could be done about that, or so I thought at first. One of those lamp things are above with a wire coming out of it that I led me to a white pad to my left at mid chest level. I reached over to it and fiddled with it until it clicked up and the lamp lit up. I clicked it up and down a couple more times to get used to it and then left it on. The wonders of the modern age.

The inside of the hut was not lit up and it seemed that light was the only thing filling this thing at all except this one thing in the corner. A couple different tools where here or there or hanging on the wall and that thing in the corner was the only thing I couldn't recognize right away. I walked over to it and sat my swords down on the counter to examine the thing.

What in the underworld was this thing?

I could see that there is a motor on top and below the motor is are two blades connected together by a screw thing. I shook my head and laid the machine back on four wheels. I pushed it out from the corner and took the handle in hand. I saw on the left side a grip to pull on and some sort of lever that had lines on it that grew larger the more I pushed it away. I pushed it to the top and took the handle in hand to test it. I yanked it back and the motor made a noise so I must be doing something right. I did it again but harder and the motor noise grew. I did this a couple more times to the same thing as before but I noticed that every time I did this the blades at the bottom spun around as well. It was some sort of cutting equipment I guessed. Every time I pulled back on the sting the pulley inside contacts the blades or something close to that and allows them to spin. It's not powered by steam that much I could smell but neither is it oil but there has to be some sort of fuel for the engine if not steam or oil. I mused over this for a while and tried a couple things to see if it would work but nothing I did came up with different results. I sighed and stood back up to my feet.

"Morning Innkeeper." I greeted the woman spying on me from behind the door like a stalker but didn't once turn around to face her. I waited for her to come to me but while I did this I looked around to the many tools in the small building.

Hammers, nails, screws, wrenches of different sizes, and sockets too but in a mess. Tools are everywhere in the building and every which way inside the cabinets and tool chests. Who or whatever uses this shack doesn't take care of it or the tools inside which is a real shame. If given the chance I'll have to change this but first I must claim this space as my own territory. Once that happens first things first is the care and handling of these tools. Sometimes a worker is only as good as the tools he uses and the man that worked in here was a hard worker but sloppy. With the way things are placed everywhere I could spot his work a mile away. I think I remember seeing a couple modifications to the house now that I think of it but hidden in only a way that someone ignorant of what to look for wouldn't notice.

"Morning Otieno-san." She greeted.

"Got tired of watching me from a far have you?" My words where devoid of emotion so she couldn't predict what was thinking or on how I thought of her right now. The Game is truly fun to play with a man or woman who believes they have the higher hand but on day someone needs to come and remedy that.

My words were blunt and rude to some but I was looking to put this woman on the spot for the way she treated me like I was ignorant of what's around me. Even now I can still pick up the scent of blood and death on her person but unlike Karasuba the regret and remorse from her actions seem to be leaking through polluting the smell making me gag. I don't wish to be anymore rude than I have to without proper cause so I swallowed my cough but the disgust was still there. I hate to see someone that doesn't come to terms with her actions and reeks of it.

I took a couple tools in hand and began to place them in piles. It was a habit. I see and work space I want I begin to fix it up little by little and these tools have to be organized. They have to be. There need to be order in this small area.

"I wasn't spying on you," the woman finally revealed herself to me by walking into the building right up behind me.

"Funny, I said "watching from afar' not "spying' Innkeeper. Convince yourself before others." I glanced back and noticed that smile she seemed to have on her lips before was gone. An even line of a frown now remained in its place.

"Before I fix myself tell me what you are doing in my shed? I didn't say you could come in here or near here."

"Neither did you say that I couldn't but that's beside the point I suppose. I came in because of pure curiosity mainly but to see how this shed as you call it is," I opened up a small box and the shelves and started to wipe down the wrenches that fit into the slots. "I must admit I expected," I placed my hand down on a wrench covered with surface rust and shook my head. "Organization and cleanliness seeing that this is Your shed Innkeeper."

The woman's frown grew until it became more apparent. "The state in which I have what belongs to me or how I keep what's mine in what condition is none of your business." I frowned and turned away from the tools. She made a valid point that this lot belonged to her and anything on it does as well but I made it know that the bar that was set hasn't been reached yet. I made it known in a subtle but not so subtle way and she knew that which is why she's not amused with me right now just like she was last night.

I gestured to the machine I was messing with before. "How do you make it work," I paused when I noticed something. Before it wasn't apparent but now it was easy to see the frown on her lips I must have hit a sensitive spot a couple times to do that. This woman comes off as someone hard to disturb but doing so placed an evil smile on my inner lips. 'Let's see how far we can push her,' I heard a whisper in my ear. That's not a bad idea. "Because as you saw while you were spying I was having trouble?"

"What makes you think I was spying?"

"Well," I dragged it one a moment while letting my eyes wander a bit. "You were watching me since the moment I walked towards your shack and hide behind something every time I turned your direction like a stalker. And then when I left the hut here you hid away again instead of confronting me. If that is not spying then please enlighten me on what you were doing watching me from a far?"

"It's as I said, I was up early and saw you. Seeing that you are new to the Inn I wanted to see what you were doing."

"So information gathering?" I said simply.

The Innkeeper's eyes opened. "Sure, why not? I am curious of "Uzume's man' after all and to see how far she lets her man go."

Wait is she insinuating that I am the lesser in the relationship and that I am in fact collared like a dog? Now that was going a little too far. I mean sure, I was calling her spy or a bit of a stalker but to call me this was a little much. I didn't show my contempt. No, instead I let a faint smile appear my face that rarely does when I am out of character. It's more akin to the smile she gave me last night when warning me against violence while within the confines of her establishment.

"You were still spying and that is quite unbecoming of someone, especially women." I have heard many times from other strong women with a backbone that the "them" of the female race are unlike normal women. They fall under a different sort category with their own set of rules and ethics. They have solid beliefs that men are the only sort that stopes as low as spying on others, and if caught, like most women always do anyway, deny doing it even if caught in the act. The fact that they can't admit to their actions is what sets them apart. They do divert any accusations elsewhere to save themselves having to explain as well. That sort is interesting to toy with.

I let my smile go to the emotionless and bored look I have prior to all this but inside the look that Innkeeper gave me couldn't stop the smirk from forming in my mind.

"Moving on," she noted totally avoiding the conversation. As I said a proud woman would never admit to spying, stalking, or anything that falls below their little list of ethics. As consequence my inner smirk grew. "You had the right idea before but you missed a few crucial steps."

Innkeeper knelt down and shamelessly I watched as the miko she wore tightened around her navel and chest area. Her curves of her upper thighs and rear as well became more pronounced.

"I see," I responded though my eyes are on a different things.

"You need to turn this red nod here by the oil cam to let gas to flow to the engine."

"I see," turn red knob to get the flow going was now committed to memory.

Innkeeper nodded and continued. "You also didn't push the throttle all the way forward as well," she said while pushing the lever aka the throttle all the way forward until it clinked.

"I see," I responded with again.

She stood back up and looked back to me to see if I was paying attention instead of just saying "I see" again and again. My eyes met her own with a serious stare that made her frown thinking on maybe she was imagining things.

"You take the release handle here and pull it back to the handle."

"I see," I said but thought with a smirk 'I bet heh heh heh.'

"Then you take the "Handle" as you called it and as you did before pull it back until the engine starts."

"I see."

The engine started right up and then the Innkeeper pulled the throttle back making the engine run smooth. "There, you see how it is done?" Innkeeper asked to no immediate answer. She looked back and found me gone and looked around until she felt something lift up on the mower. I lifted the front and saw the blades spinning at high enough speeds to mow down the grass not problem and it shut off when Innkeeper let go of the front. I turned the red knob the opposite direction and pushed the throttle to the end toward the turtle. I moved the Innkeeper away the picked the thing up and made it a corner machine again.

"I see." I said finally satisfied with the morning with what I learned and exited the hut. Miya had a nice butt, but Uzume's is the best that I have seen up close so far. Too bad she hides it behind those roomy cloths she wears.

"Do you usually use this thing Innkeeper?"

"Oh no, I pay a ruffian to do it for me?" I rose an eyebrow at this. I knew what a ruffian was so why would she have one around at all? Most of the ruffian or rift raft I have seen in life don't live it quite honorably.

"Oh, he doesn't. He persists to always come to my home and mooch food off of my without even a promise to repay me for my kindness fully." I looked back to the shed with the grass cutter I mind then the work he did on the Inn that I have seen so far like hiding the one room close to the stairs. It seems like this 'ruffian' that the Innkeeper talks about is the disorganized sort but comes around to do odd jobs around the inn. I believe he might earn his keep well enough. Someone had to rake the leaves, trim the hedges, scale up the tree and pick up the sticks, and keep the inn in shape. I can see the signs of this 'ruffian' everywhere around me including on the doors up and downstairs. This man probably renovated this entire building by himself and takes care of the yard when he has time along with dealing with a woman that could just think about killing him and he would just die.

Any sane and insane person could see that the Innkeeper is a killer and for the best of your health to say on her good side. I know how to rein in a woman like Karasuba and Uzume for I have seen their kind before even, including Innkeeper here, so I have no problem with planning out the ways to get on her bad side but promote our relationship.

The man that takes care of this house probably doesn't have this luxury like I do. The 'ruffian' takes care of her like a man should for a woman and even though she doesn't voice it I believe she appreciates him. Being a powerful figure she might be used to a princess like lifestyle and does really appreciate fully when that man does for meager sums. Or maybe he takes too much and over stayed his welcome. I am not sure but it isn't my business now that I think of it. I most likely will meet this man sometime and if I don't well it is what it is.

Now that I am on the thought of men in the house I wondered where the Mr. Asama is. Sekirei have a name and a number at their identity and yet this one has a surname. She must have married her ashikabi like she said but seeing that she doesn't have a tether and is alive maybe this isn't the case. "Innkeeper."

"Hm," the woman hummed for me to continue.

"Your husband, has he passed on to the afterlife?" It was a personal and very direct question but one I had to get an answer to anyway.

The woman lost her teasing smile for one of a sad nature instead and nodded. "Yes he has." I didn't say I was sorry for her lost because I wasn't. I have lost many of my family and my friends including my first love as well during my dark times so her pain is nothing new to me. It did leave a couple more questions for me to ask though.

"Did this inn belong to him?"

"Yes in fact it was his. I have lived here even before his passing."

"How long has it been since his passing?" The innkeeper's eyes turned a shade dark as they rose up to meet my own. I am not sure what she saw when she looking into my eyes but it cause her to look way in revelation if that makes any since. Then again I have been told many a times that I wear my heart on my shoulder when it comes to eye contact. I can't hide my thoughts from anyone who looks into my eyes and I don't know what she saw because I don't feel much at the moment to begin with. Maybe it the emptiness of my heart that has her on edge or maybe that I don't really care for her plight or woes. I don't know and can't know.

The innkeeper took a breath before facing me again. "I could say 5 years now."

"You feel for his loss still but have yet to move on. Why do you wallow in the past?"

I noticed a sharp narrow of the woman's eye but felt nothing for the visual threat she decided to send me. "Are you saying that I should just forget about my husband? That I should just forget about him and move on?" She asked dangerously.

I walked up to the woman and looked down to her being a good seven or so inches over her so she could no longer look at me like I was below her anymore. The entire time she talked I could see that like Karasuba she held a resentment for the human race and I cannot blame her for this, but I refused to be looked down upon by a woman that believes she's untouchable. I looked dead into her eyes and holding nothing back in the way of my feelings or emotions about what she did or what she said. The innkeeper's eyes widened before they averted again from my own slightly.

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered. "I placed those words into your mouth and have been a dishonorable host."

"I hold no ill will towards how you feel to look at me for I have suffered worst in my time in the west Innkeeper."

"I should have more control over myself and that is inexcusable. I rudely interrupted you as well." She placed us back on topic away from this incident and I followed along with it.

"You are right about placing those words in my mouth. All I wish for you to do is make sure to honor his passing into the next world and live not in the past but ahead of the troubled times that come. Any good husband would want that from their wives; to live and find happiness in all of its wonders."

Miya looked up to me again in surprise as I bowed in a small nod her and walked away but made sure to grab my swords before I exited the shed. I felt that maybe I left a good impression on the woman as I left but it was the least I could for ogling a mourning widow after all. Wouldn't be the first time I had to give a widow support in some way to walk past their loss and become stronger. Hopefully this helped.

But one more thing before I forget, "If you no longer wish to receive the services of the "ruffian' you spoke of then would you allow me to take his position as maintainer?"

"I'll...I'll think on it Mr. Jäger."

I looked back at the woman and responded to her earlier greeting. "Good morning to you as well Ms. Asama," I waved back to the woman and returned to the inn.

* * *

Mutsu was already downstairs in the dining room when I walked in. I could feel him in the other room and if I wasn't mistaken then he was dosing off in the middle of the house which is strange. He was asleep before Uzume and I so that leaves me to the question why is he asleep right now. The Innkeeper remained outside so I best get him up before she takes offense to his loitering, if that is the right word for it or maybe lounging. I don't know but it has to be something like that.

I can see now that he's asleep but Uzume on the other hand was away and doing something in her room, the question was what. First thing is first I suppose and that is to make sure Mutsu is awake long enough to eat then he can do whatever he wants afterwards. I made my way to the dining room silently and pushed my way into the room. I found him inside with his back to the wall and his head down. He bangs blocked his eyes from view so I could see them but I know he's in a daze right now. He probably doesn't know I'm here right now. I sighed and walked up to my second sekirei. His head rose up only to fall in a small bobbing. I snapped my finger in front of him and in a jolt he woke up.

"Huh? What happened?"

"I could ask you the same." I kneeled down to the man's level and sighed. Mutsu looked up but still I couldn't see his eyes because of his bangs. With one finger and reached in and pulled them away from his eyes to him giving me a startled stare. "Don't let her see you dozing off like this Mutsu. It speaks ill of your upbringing." The male sekirei rose an eyebrow at me. In response I persisted with my own glare down at him. After the fated staring contest he sighed and crossed his arms tighter around his chest.

"You are starting to sound like her and you just met the woman." I snort once at his statement.

I wouldn't call it a compliment for I have yet so see much complimentary about the woman but I suppose I can, "Call it a gift." I leaned back up but didn't break eye contact with my second but only male sekirei. It's strange, of all the sekirei I have seen, being mostly woman, one of the few males comes to me to become his ashikabi. Me, a man from a time long past and anything but normal, instead of one of the many females in the city. Not many females in this city are all that appealing but maybe I'm comparing them to the sekirei I have seen who are like gods in comparison.

If what I gathered is true at least one should have jumped Mutsu at least five times to get a kiss in. Even I can see how handsome the man with is strong and stern gaze, the way he keeps himself and walks with a powerful confidence, and him being foreign as well with a sort of German accent should have him plastered in the hearts of many girls here. On the way through the city I could see most of the Japanese and a few foreign girls looking his way with hearts in their eyes. It's a wonder why a male sekirei, or any sekirei to begin with is compatible with me like to this extent we can bond so easily. I suppose I could count myself lucky. At least I won't be bored or without a good fight with all the super powered beings that will so be walking this city.

I can tell Mutsu is powerful just with a glance, maybe as powerful as Karasuba now, but still I wonder about his swordsmanship. I could test of his power if needed to, at least get a gauge of where he's at.

"No," he said quickly and I just narrowed my eyes.

I forgot that I left the bond between us open subconsciously. My mind shuts off and erects walls to protect itself from mental manipulation and from other Mind Breakers like myself but only when threatened. Mutsu's bond doesn't threaten me and to be honest it feels different to have this lighter presence in my mind. I'm well balanced for the moment. The black spot in my mind is of course Karasuba and her influence upon me. The bright spot has to be Uzume. She's mostly sunshine and pure unadulterated optimism with a powerful warmth. That's a few of the many reasons I'm proud to have her as my sekirei and in my mind. Last I have Mutsu. He's the one at the fence watching the two mingle but keeping them separate. He's the one keeping the foundation together. With his help my mind feels a little more 'together'. It's slow but the feeling it building. Because of just how much I am opening my mind to him he can feel what I think when my thoughts are strong enough. He felt just how anxious I was to see him in action. My gaze on his sword doesn't help defend the claim.

"Really?"

"Yes," he defiantly said to me but I slammed my hand on the wall next to his head. His stare never wavered an inch even when I got into his face.

"You think you have a choice?" because later I checked I was the ashikabi and him the sekirei. That means that when I give a suggestion the sekirei do their utmost to complete it. Takami I'm like such and yet he refused me. Even know he holds an air of defiance that I've broken from men greater than even him. I don't wish to do the same to Mutsu as I have those men.

"You think you can make me?" This time he read my intentions and not my mind. That sounded like a challenge and I'm too prideful not to indulge a little. My frown turned into a grin so cruelly evil that I could feel Karasuba shivering her in boots right now in anticipation of our next meeting soon. I think I'll meet her tonight and give her my answer. I'm sure she will be both annoyed and pleased with my answer.

I felt a dark aura resonate from the pit of my soul and my hand pressed further into the wall. This time Mutsu's eyes quivered as his slunk deeper into the wall behind him. "Would you kindly humor me Mutsu after all," I felt my smile shrink and my eyes narrow with a darkly amused grin. "We don't wish to find out the hard way now, or do we?" I mattered little to me which choice he made. In the end he and I will spar and I'll see what he's capable of.

"Ah," he grunted then turned away from me. "You must have picked that up from Karasuba." Mutsu signed and turned his gaze back to me. "Fine, whatever you need Ashikabi-sama."

"I appreciate this Mutsu and I find the bit about Karasuba ironic." I leaned into his ear and all so whispered softly. So softly that only he could hear and just barely at that. "It would make sense why because… she's also my sekirei." Mutsu stared blankly at me frozen stiff in place. The composure he so hoped to keep up broke in a glass store with a bull in it. His mouth hung open and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. I lifted myself back up with my smile gone and my stoic expression equipped.

"I'm going to retrieve your younger sister now." I stood back up and walked back to the door way towards the hallway. It wasn't until I reached the stairs that I heard something fall and hit the ground in dismay. I felt shock and distress from somewhere in the Inn and it's coming from the room Mutsu is in. Up the stairs I went past the fake wall towards Angel's room. My angel.

I reached her door and knocked three times. With a cross in my arms I waited for her to answer the door but I wasn't in any hurry. I had nothing better to do yet or anyone I had to kill seeing that I was no longer in my time and all my previous contracts are now dead anyway so there isn't really any reason to search the plains or go castle hopping anymore. And so my schedule was a little empty. I'm not sure what exactly I should do with all my free time. I am not an assassin, a witch hunter, beast tamer, or Templar in this time but maybe that doesn't spell of end of my system. I am a contractor still. I take a job, do the job, set up roots, and earn renown to get even more contracts to fulfill. I take people by the hair and grasp their heart right before I attach the strings and like a puppeteer I make them dance to my tune until I get exactly what I want. Everything comes with a price and the price weighs on your actions.

This sekirei game, the businesses that are involved, and the people that participate in it seems like one big contract and something tells me I am in deeper than I first thought. The emergence of a woman like Karasuba will surly making attention fall upon me. She ranked number 4 of all the sekirei then there is Mutsu. Mutsu personally knows Karasuba and how she works with also ranking at the number 5 of all the other sekirei. I have been in contact with Kazehana and by her age she's within the ranking top five and she's another that Mutsu knows personally. Miya is ranked at the least two and at the most zero. Her power can be minuscule or even infinite and I live under the same roof as her.

That leaves Uzume and I can tell just by the way she looks at me that she's holding something back. What that could be, I don't know. While I could interrogate her about it, but she first has to open the door and let me in. Both figuratively and literally. Uzume is keeping something from me same with the Innkeeper. Uzume didn't even tell me of the other tenant in this inn they have yet to tell me about as well. I wonder why.

I clenched my fist and took a breath before knocking a three more times.

"One moment," I heard in a gruff tone from a woman that just got up and isn't a morning person. The door slid open a moment later like she said before. "Okay what do you…oh…Otieno! Hehehe, hiya," a half-naked Uzume only dressed in pink panties and nothing up top giving me a very good look of her amazing breasts said. They are of the S class that much is for sure. Gods and spirits above I would love to rub those.

Uzume turned a shade red when she looked upon me then a saucy smiled blessed her lips. "You like what you see?" That chest of hers pressed hard against my own as she stood up until her face was up close to my own. She was seducing me and it was working on my more primal side. As I told Karasuba before, I'm probably the most sexually frustrated man in the world right now. Over two years of hunting succubi does that to you. As a rule of thumb don't have sex and attempt to have intercourse to sate your beastly urges because that just opens the door for them to walk in and take you. I have to deprive myself of any kind of mental or physical stimulation in order to strengthen my immunity to their charms. Even after the hunt was all said and done I had job after job and more monsters to hunt. I haven't had a mental experience in a long time and anything physical twice as long. I can't really feel much in the way of emotion but I do know what it's like to be attracted to treasure.

"Love," I whispered back in her ear and stepped up to her into the door way.

Uzume chuckled and pushed me back out the door. I narrowed my eyes at her but she just winked at me playfully and closed the door to a crack.

"Give me a few minutes," she said seductively in a way that caused my spine to shiver.

"Just a few?" I almost growled and Uzume's grin grew same with that feeling in my stomach grew in heat.

"To get ready. I have something to show you koi-bi-to."

I gulped hard. I wanted to say to the void with waiting. I wanted her now. Whether in her room, the hallway, or (so not to break the rules) in the shed next to us. I found myself not caring where, but this "surprise" she has in store has me curious. Uzume winked once more at me before closing the door in my face leaving me alone in the hallway. Is it just me or was it easy for her to break my masterful self-control just like Karasuba. The way they came at me broke down my walls one at a time and I couldn't help but wish to indulge in physical intimacy with them.

I have played the game with a plethora of females that used a man's primal desires against them. The more notorious one happens to be the succubus I mentioned before of course. They targeted me and so far when it comes to self-control they are one of my greatest challenges to take on, but like the rest I have defeated them and their wiles. That is until I met Isabela, but that's because we here destined to be one flesh and one mind. The sekirei remind me of the succubus for they search for their true mate in which they can only bare children for and she found that in me. I realized five years later that the reason by I felt dead on the inside is because we had a bond much like the one with my sekirei.

When I refused to be with her she died without my life energy to keep her alive. Once she found me and we "danced" I leeched it from her every step of the way I went away from her. I felt her pain when I assumed it was my own, and when I felt her die it killed everything inside of me. I felt as if y body was ripped into pieces only to be put back together in a deformed shape. Just when I felt like it couldn't get worse it did worse for me. A hole was formed in my heart after a week of torture. A void that could only be filled with one thing. Succubus are creatures of emotion so at the cost of killing one I was bonded to that was my payment. My emotions were lost to me turning me into the shell that I am now. I can't feel happy, sad, angry, or even excited.

I only have my primal instinct now. The instinct to mate, to kill when threatened, to promote my standing, and so much more. That is one reason I can't sleep and don't sleep. My body feels soulless and many times I have been called a monster in the eyes of even monsters themselves. They were right, I don't care for other people's plight and I am not a hero like some believe. Uzume sees me as something that I am not but Mutsu and Karasuba can see what I am. I am a contractor and kill without mercy if someone got in the way of my mission. I take hearts of any and all that I believe I can use.

Heartless, that is a word I would use for someone like me and only two of my sekirei can see that. Its been a minute since I last killed someone and I can smell the corruption in the air of this city. My blade hungers for it. Maybe that's why Karasuba is compatible with me same with Mutsu. They counter each other perfectly. Attack and defense, madness and sanity, and both have a firm sense of understanding plus adaptability like myself.

"Otieno," I heard from behind and door. She was done I suppose with her surprise. It had better be worth all this waiting. I hate waiting even more than I hate running. I pushed off and wall and waited for the woman to get off her butt and open door but I have the feeling she wants me to open instead and come in of my own violation. I took a breath and gripped the door and opened it. The surprise had better be worth it and if not I will… I closed the door to get my thoughts.

"Hey! The hell Otieno!"

I blinked a couple times but the image of what I just saw happened to be trapped in my eyes and mind. I couldn't believe what I just saw.

"D-did you not like it?"

I opened the door revealing the most spunky and enticing woman in this entire city and probably the world with a thing for strange foreign attire. Maybe I was seeing things and having hallucinations from hunger. Yeah that could be it. I took a deep breath and opened the door once more to the surprise Uzume had for me. A surprise she decided to give me the honor of seeing first hand. Uzume stood there in her outfit annoyed and a little disappointed by my previous reaction to her outfit, but I answer her question with a grin much like her own before.

When Uzume saw this her frowned turned into a smile. She beckoned me forward with an also subtle wave gesture with both hands and me being the healthy young man in body I am I took the invitation in seconds. I closed the door and wedged my swords along the frame behind me because I was the only one allowed to enjoy the sight bestowed upon me today. That and I didn't want any interruptions. Uzume giggled at my antics.

"You must really like my outfit," Uzume's smiled turned sensual in nature with a downward tilt of her head and sly narrow of her eyes. "Or maybe you like the thought of me being your little maid, honorable master." She leaned forward drawing my eyes to follow. I heard her giggle again and I willed my eyes up to hers once more.

It was true. Of all the outfits she could have worn she choose a French maid. The color scheme was white with hot pink frills. I have spent a very good amount of my time in France and never understood why they call it a French maid outfit here in Japan; I happen to be getting most of my knowledge of the Japanese culture from the man's minded I practically melted not too long ago for information. I have seen the Europeans dress their female servants or house slaves in this sort of outfit if they have the right amount of money or what not. I have seen it in America as well but that was over two hundred years ago. But why a 'French' maid not a regular maid? I can see the modifications to the outfit from the norm I have seen many a times in mansions of rich families.

The skirt happened to be much shorter, too short actually, enough to show off her finely sculpted legs and the small stockings with gothic like stripes she decided to wear with them. The top blouse held nothing back. It was tight on her body if snug I suppose but one thing I noticed the most of is the ample amount of cleavage the top showed me. I could tell just from a glance she didn't wear anything undergarments at the top because I could see her nipples through the fabric. The head dressing in the shape of some sort of tiara was the same color as the rest of her outfit with cute frills. It was probably the accessory the kept her hair up.

Unlike the single side pony tail that she wore all her hair she must have tied up into a bun on back her head. It have her a more sophisticated but also a more unrestricted view of her neck. So bright and delicious looking. I wanted to bite her but maybe that's the vampire blood in me talking. Uzume was beautiful in her white outfit but appeared to be hard to recognize and approach because of the way her face is shadowed. Her civilian outfit makes her more down to earth and easier to approach but isn't eye catching at all so easy to overlook. This outfit made her seem more servient and open for my commands but it goes against her personality harshly. Uzume is the one that takes not the other way around.

Uzume seemed to take my silence as I thought this through positively and approached me. The space between us became to miniscule. Suddenly I didn't care about any negatives or the positives when her hands softly slid up my hands all the way up to my shoulders. They brushed along my markings earning an involuntary shiver from me. Uzume giggled heavily in response. I could feel the light in the back of my mind grow. I caught the scent of something sweet and steamy that had my fingers twitch. Any walls that I had previously that protected me from mental insurgency turned brittle.

I could feel her, though not that potently, but enough to know enough what she was feeling. I have felt it from Isabela during our walks at night. I have felt it from Bethany when we conjoined our minds so she could teach me how to have sex without being physically intimate. I have felt this from Dehilia whenever her golden brown eyes, glistening from the energies of her witch like ancestry, molded into my own. This I feel will be dwarfed by what Uzume offers me.

I gulp when Uzume placed her hands atop of my own. She slowly slide back down my shoulders to my chest and leaned forward before taking my hands in her. Our alike colored eyes met each other mutually. Uzume tip toed up to my ear eliminating the remaining space between us and whispered in my ear, "Master."

My self-control battled with my now raging drive to show this woman that I truly am the master. I would be a liar if I said I didn't have fantasies about bedding a French maid in her outfit once or twice. I found it a bit foolish in the past, but now I think I'm the foolish one for not taking advantage. Oh how easily I could pull that blouse down and assault her breasts or maybe aim a little low or higher to her neck or maybe her navel. So many options and pressure points I could exploit. She has no idea but should I is the question. This might not be a good idea. I'm beginning to see just see what Mutsu meant. Mutsu knew how much trouble Uzume was going to be for me and warned me about meeting her for good reason and this is why he said it. Now I am struggling to not waste time with these meaningless musing of mine and take action. Any action.

Uzume smirked at my internal battle and decided to tip the scale a little. Her breasts mashed against my chest. So much so that I could feel the nipples through it the thin fabric. Her arms came up and wrapped around to my back in a soft hug with a tight unescapable grasp. Her lips hovered just above mine. And her eyes... Slowly I was losing myself in them. This woman is good. Really good. I lost all remaining control over the situation. If Bethany were here now she would probably kill me for being so easily swayed but I no longer cared.

My hands began to lift up to the point that fingers intertwined together when they found the small of her back. I leaned down but not too much. Uzume was the third tallest when it came to my sekirei, I could tell. Karasuba was closer to my height that Uzume not that I minded. My lips found Uzume's with a feverous tenacity. Uzume moaned with that blush on her cheeks growing as her wings spread out from her back. I didn't care about any of this though. I let my hand fall down from her back to her rear and squeezed enticing another moan into my mouth. Uzume let her hand fall from over my shoulder and rose it up to my cheek. The other wrapped further around the back of my neck to the opposite shoulder. She rubbed my cheek drawing circles and I'm not sure why. What was she looking to accomplish?

I groaned when she found a sensitive spot on my cheek and caressed it gently focusing in that one spot. That's her ploy; to find the sensitive points of my body but I can play this game as well. I let my hand slip from her rear and rose it to her torso around her area her ribs are. I gently placed a single finger between the third lumber and traced down in a small curve to her hip. The groan she returned was more than satisfying.

"That wasn't... Fair," she said between kisses. I didn't answer her though. I was focused in this sensation assaulting my barriers right now trying to get in. Despite my body following through with her wishes I found that my mind began to clear. I was focused now. A challenge or competition excited an old part of me and I need to gather information on this bond and how it effects us anyway.

Uzume was a better and more controlled kisser than Karasuba. I felt that maybe she practiced or witnessed more kissing than was more of a teaser, very eager, and made it a competition but just as sloppy and amateurish with it. Uzume is much more gentle and slow building than the black sekirei. We are both testing each other's threshold and learning instead of jumping into the ocean without testing the water first. I preferred this from Uzume and like the fact she wasn't in a hurry or trying to impose her will upon me. It felt mutual between us.

My desire to destroy Uzume and make her scream as roughly as loudly as possible seemed to fade away the more I felt from her. Uzume isn't Karasuba. They are opposites from one another in every way it seems. I saw this a little immature to treat them the same.

'I want to enjoy this intimacy with my one and only. He didn't wish to sleep with me and it hurt at first. I thought that he truly didn't want me, but I can feel different. I know different now. He is responding to me so easily. It feels…so good. I never knew... I want more and so does he. He wants me and I want him. This feel so… right.'

I opened my eyes and broke the kiss. Uzume moaned as if she didn't wish me to stop. To bad for her I don't wish to stay at the lips the entire time. She desired to feel good after I hurt her yesterday. I never thought rejecting such a small offer would hurt her emotionally. I don't see reason why but I suppose it doesn't matter right now.

I kissed he forehead and smiled at her like I've seen Bethany use every now and again on a mark and Uzume anxiously bit her lip. I returned the winking gesture before sinking down to her neck. I licked along the nerves and her jugular from the bottom of the collar bone to her ear. Uzume made a sharp intake of air and kissed my cheek and ear. Her hand left my own rose to my chest. I felt her rub my chest and grind herself against me. My free hand fell down and took her other cheek in hand. Uzume has a slightly smaller hips than Karasuba. Her hips aren't as wide or her waist but still Uzume's butt was nice to grab on to. More to work that's for sure. More than likely Uzume is going to prefer few positions that forces all her weight on her lower back compared to Karasuba.

I took this into account as I picked Uzume up by her rear much like I did Karasuba with the dresser as my target. I noticed that Uzume is heavier than Karasuba by a decent amount to. Maybe a stone. It's just an observation but not negative one. I was gentle with Uzume unlike Karasuba and she responded positively to this. I can't imagine anything between the black sekirei and I being gentle or soft like between me and the veil sekirei. I saw an empty spot, for the most part free of cosmetics, and walked towards it. Uzume's legs wrapped around my waist and she purred. Her eyes met my own again. Both filled with so much…I can't identify it. It's wasn't like anything I have seen before with any other woman I have had in this position. Something tells me Uzume likes this display of my strength.

Her hands found the cheeks of my face and rose my head up to mash her lips to my own again. I felt another connection between us spiritually when she did this. Our energies seemed to swirl together like a whirlpool cycling two different pools of water together until they flowed in unison. I have never felt something like this in my body before. Something like it could be when a spirit and demon within my body found some sort of mutual understanding but its rare and nothing compared to this.

I reached the dresser and set her gently down on top of it. She smiled in the kiss at this and deepened it. Her tongue swirled around in a dance with my own.

I have never really kissed other woman like this before. My mother once told me that a True kiss is one with someone you felt you could spend the rest of your life with; someone you feel they will be unforgettable and will always love you. I listened to my mother and never truly kissed a woman once in my life until now. I've had a peck here or a small kiss there but nothing was connected to it. It was an action as meaningless as a hand shake with a man you don't respect.

This is different. It was like instinct. I couldn't explain it but my body seemed to have all the answers.

I fell down and kissed her neck again and slowly made my way down. I kissed where her heart is and even felt it race when my lips touched skin. I reached for the first stocking and pulled it straight down to see her beautiful legs.

I am not sure if it's a sekirei thing but like Karasuba, Uzume's legs are sculpted and well muscular but not in a masculine way. Her legs look amazing and feel soft. I kissed my way down the more I pulled down on her stocking off until it was free of her foot. The whole time Uzume rubbed to top of my head and muffled her own moans. I repeated for the last leg and looked up to see her every expression. I massaged the outside and inside of her legs and found that her spot is on the underside of the left leg along the hamstring but inside thigh of her right.

"Otieno," she moaned when I made another move. I licked her toes and cafes. Her blush increased. I think this was more a mental simulation then a physical one so I moved on.

I looked up and noticed something. "You're not wearing underwear." Uzume just grinned.

I rose up to her with the stockings still in hand. I rolled the fabric around my hands then made a mock blindfold. I pressed this around her eyes and before she could protest took her lips again. She groaned and took the fabric of my shirt in her hands. I broke the kiss and kissed her nipple through the fabric. I gripped both the flaps of the fold with one hand used the other for her opposite breast. Uzume's moans excited me enough to press on. This fabric is getting annoying as well. I reached up to the top button and slid my finger down popping out one button to the next. Without hesitation I slip my hand under the fabricated finally felt her.

"Ah," Uzume sort of yelped and moaned I'd say from shocking pleasure.

Her breasts were so soft and yet firm in my hands. This feels much more different than any other I've hand in my hands and it's a decent amount I'm comparing these two. I pulled the fabric of her clothes out of the way until nothing stood in my way to witness her generous bust with my naked eyes. Though I saw this earlier I can't fault the bit of excitement I felt from working for it a bit. Like opening a finely wrapped present on Christmas if you will.

I leaned forward and bite gently onto one of her nipples and suck on it. The taste is strange seeing that their is a taste to begin with. Uzume doesn't reek of that perfume stuff and furlong any makeup so this sweetness must all be from her. From skin? This must be another sekirei thing or maybe a psychological reaction to the bond between us. I feel from my light ministrations when I really shouldn't be getting the signals I'm seeing. Her moans and groans, while sexual in nature, are a little too loud for what little I've done. I've for the most part kissed her, took advantage of a couple pressure points including the few in her breasts, and applied stimulation at odd areas just to get a gauge of where everything goes. I've learned that Uzume prefers intimacy. Emotional attachment to the action itself. She loves to kiss as well. Every single kiss felt as if a part of me was siphoned away from my soul but replaced once more. I didn't look too far into it. She likes to be surprised and has a decently open mind. I feel though that since I have taken the lead right now she will pay me back twice fold once she gets her turn.

The wait and see approach? I see. Might as well end this here for now and witness what she has in store.

I licked my way back up to her lips and took small peck on her lips before discarding my make shift fold. Uzume's smile and the glaze in her eyes spoke volumes of just how amusingly satisfied she was.

"That was a little kinky master." So my assumption was close. While I did satisfy her to a point she's been abiding her time. I know her kind well enough and this might be easier than I thought. It haven't even begun yet.

I chuckled, "I am here to please Angel."

"Ah-ah-ha," she shook her finger in front of me. "I'm your maid not your angel master. Please remember this."

Role playing now? Interesting.

She wants me to act as the master of the house and her my sultry and relentless maid. I couldn't really do that because I have never had a maid before so I came to the consensus just to keep doing as I was doing just with different words.

"Well then what does my little maid wish to do to please her master?" I rubbed my cheek against hers.

Uzume swallowed a purr. "I want master to raise his arms up." I felt this was a fair demand and followed through with it. I let my hands fly up overhead. My shirt flew up and off my body but stopped at my eyes. Uzume giggled at this and I sort of smiled when I felt her amusement. She pecked me on the lips. I didn't see it coming and almost caused a spike in my reactions but it wasn't a bad one. I felt something warm and wet on my neck hitting a good amount of the places that had me groan softly.

I felt her kiss my chest among other things. It seems she wanted revenge for my early ministrations and it was working. Uzume took pleasure in the small grunts and strain from my attempt to cover my body's reactions. Not seeing what was happening was really turning my mind into a hurricane and I was driving me insane.

Her tongue rose up to my neck again then her lips took my own again. Salty but sweet. I must be sweating from the heat. It was so hot in this room right not. I needed to get my clothes off. I let my hands drop down from my shirt and took it in hand. I yanked my eyes free to playful ones that Uzume held. I let my shirt fall down to the floor and rolled my shoulders and sighed in relief as my body relaxed a bit more. I was a little tense for I'm not yet accustomed to this but I'm adapting.

"That sounded good." I rolled my neck one last time with my eyes closed before looking back at her in the eyes again.

"You feel much better."

Uzume looked taken back from this giving me the window I needed. I rose my hands up to her blouse at the shoulders and pulled it downward. The fabric her breasts were holding up fell to her nipples. They appeared to be the only thing keeping her top up.

I licked my lips in anticipation until I felt something sour in the back of my mind. Before when I had the walls up I could feel a drop of this from last night. I dropped my eyes down and noticed her hand wandering from one scar to the next on my torso. Many of my scars from my hunts or battles. Most come from things that aren't human because there are worse monsters out there than man.

"How did you get all these?" The light from her eyes faded the more of my scars she saw and just how severe they really were in the past.

I took her hand and rose it to my lips. I kissed knuckle and licked her finger. "Don't worry about it okay," I seemed to plead her but Uzume shook her head. "But all of this!" She looked down to the deepest scar and a few others like it that mirror around my stomach to the back. Seven in total with three on my stomach, two on my sides, and two on my back. Karasuba seemed to like my scars but these ones also seemed to make her uncomfortable just like Uzume. She didn't say it but I could feel it. With wounds like these I should be dead.

"Who or what did this to you?" I closed my eyes and sighed. "I'll tell you Uzume but not today. I have many old wounds with very old stories behind them." Uzume touched my cheek and I opened my eyes. I noticed her's in the corners began to gather tears.

She leaned in and kissed me again but it was different than the others. This one was one of sorrow and concern instead of excitement and glee. 'What could have harmed you to such an extent? Never again. I swear that nothing and no one will ever hurt you like this again. If they try I will rend them asunder. This I swear.' Her thoughts flowed through my mind. I broke the kiss and wrapped my arms around her. Uzume did the same. We embraced leaving behind all the previous intent we had before. My desire faded away and all that was left was the cold void I carry in my body every day.

I didn't forget about Uzume's state of dress, but I was back in control.

"Uzume," I called down to her. She hummed in recognition to my call. I noticed the compromising position she and I were in and didn't want that Innkeeper to fly off the handle. She seems like the type. She's my sekirei as well so she's not going far away from me. I can put a hold on this for now.

"Breakfast… Innkeeper… waiting." I finally said and caused Uzume to groan a little before kissing me on the cheek.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I don't wanna have her coming up here and going all hell face on us." We broke our embrace and I fixed what I did before things escalated to this. I stepped back and assisted Uzume off the dresser back to her naked feet. Her eyes traveled down to my chest again before snapped back up to mine.

"Otieno I…"

I caressed her cheek with my fingers and shook my head. "What's in the past is in the past but if you wish to know wait until I have... everything together." Uzume blinked then nodded when she understood me or thought she understood me. I didn't want this to end on a serious note so I answered a question I failed to respond to before. "Nice outfit by the way. A French maid suits you Uzume." The woman answered with a twirl while in the outfit and a smile.

"It's comfortable too. Maybe you atta try it sometime." I snort at the thought of me being in one of those things. "That would be quite a sight but you would looked more beautiful in it than I would." Uzume blushed at the complement and walked to her closet. The atmosphere lightened up which was good to see.

I watched as she opened it to an almost empty closet with very few clothing inside. "That's good but that was a test run. Just wait to see what else I will have in store for you later." I hummed with interest. I liked the outfit in truth and thought it was sexy on her. I wonder what else she will try to dress as next. "Now that I know you like cosplay I can get really creative with my creations." I blinked at the strange word I have never heard of before.

"Cosplay…? Wait you can tailor clothing and make them?" Uzume looked over to me and my confused expression.

"Yeah, to both. I make my own outfits and I guess I can do the same for you if you wish." I nodded furiously.

I am tired of destroying my clothing with my powers and not having a way to get them back without a visit to a tailor or fixing them myself. My coat just needs Od or time and it restores itself but my normal clothing doesn't. If she can fashion me something or acquire clothes of this time and date I believed blending in will be much easier. I noticed quickly that her outfit is outfitted to her body but I assumed she did it at some shop here. Shows what I know. But that left the question on that other word.

"What's cosplay?"

Uzume rose an eyebrow saying 'are you serious right now,' to me. "Cosplay, ya know when people dress up in different outfits and what not and act the part." I shook my head at this making Uzume sigh. A second later she went to her draw and took out a book of some kind then walked over to hand it to me. I looked it over and opened it to different pictures like a piece of someone's life was drawn on paper.

"What is this book?" I asked as I turned the book over to which Uzume rolled her eyes at. "A manga," she answered like I should know just what this maango thing is. On the front cover was a building and it was called Cosplay café of all things. "Read it and you will know what cosplay is, among other things you don't know because seriously," she shouted and pointed bluntly at me. "You dress like some guy from the 18th century, carry swords every where you go, don't know what a bus is or any type of motor vehicle, electricity baffles you, and you carry gold coins and the such that are hundreds of years old. Were you born under a rock from a hundred years ago or something?"

"Does a cave count?"

Uzume sighed again.

* * *

I read this maanga thing as I walked to the stairwell and found it to be sort of interesting. I could read it with ease for Uzume has this translated into English so I breezed through page by page.

The elder sister of this café of all female employees is having trouble bringing in money and is being pressured by a loan shark that wants his money. The perverted younger brother comes to the café and brings with him an idea to bolster that places popularity. The Cosplay Café was born with all the girls depending on age to dress up and act the part of what they are dressed as. The younger brother then starts to get multiply girls to like him in an obvious display of affection but he barely notices which made me... annoyed? Upset? Impatient? Maybe a mixture of these three from some reason because of how dense he is.

Then there is one girl name Sanoko that acts like a total bitch to him but from what I have seen likes him more than the rest sometimes. If she likes him why act this way to begin with? Why hit him and call him names for almost no reason or situations in which it was totally her fault an dyet still blamed him?

I read all the way through by the time Uzume came down from her room in her usual clothing. It was five volumes mixed into one book apparently which left a lackluster ending but strangely I'm curious about what happens next in this thing. I feel that I'll get aggravated again if I keep readying but my legendary curiosity is slowly getting the better of me.

I knew what cosplay was like Uzume wanted and I came imagine her in one of those fast food roller skate uniforms or maybe in a miko outfit like the Innkeeper. Her earlier state of uniform has me interested to see more that she has to offer but this book. This book made me aggravated and I wish not to pick it up again. I'll continue the story but never will I open this book ever again.

I sat down and closed the book with a frown as Uzume sat down as well. She saw me place the book down and smiled. "So how what do you think?"

"Of all honesty?" Uzume nodded. "I hate Takashi, the younger brother character, because of how foolish and stupid he is about everything. Honestly I cannot see what any of the girls thought they saw in him." Uzume chuckled and gestured for me to continue. "Sonoko made me angry as well."

"The Tsundere character eh?" Uzume clarified when she saw my confused stare. "A tsundere character is one that acts tough and prideful on the outside but inside she is as soft as a pillow."

"The blushing, stuttering, and awkward attempts to gain Takashi's approval was her being this Tsundere thing?"

"Yep," she answered simply. "Anything else," she asked with a wide grin. She's enjoying my suffering a little too much.

"I thought that maybe he'd get with Koka if he would have looked past her shyness and… Wait why do I care for the characters at all? I know what you mean by cosplay is and what "Traps" are but still why is any of the rest important?"

"Where are you right now?"

I blinked at the questioned but answered anyway. "Maison Izumo."

"Which is in whatcity?"

"What was formally known as Tokyo."

"Which is in what country?"

"Japan, but why does," I was cut off again when Uzume put a finger on my lips. "And what country is does the story take place?" I eyes widened in realization. "Your saying what happened in that maanga is true?"

"Its manga and here in Japan manga are sometimes based on real life occurrences." I went quiet for a moment and letting this all sink in. "I see." I responded before handing the book back to the woman. A second later Innkeeper walked in and looked at Uzume and my close proximity and noticed our intense gazes. She looked over to Mutsu. "Did something happen?"

"I have no idea," he shrugged.

The Innkeeper for now accepted the answer and laid the platter down in front of us. It was now that I just noticed that the table was set with a bowl, a plate, a fork and spoon for me and chopsticks for everyone else. I wasn't sure whether I should have felt happy that the Innkeeper was considerate of my unfamiliarity of this place or angry that she instantly assumed I lacked the knowledge and ability to use the two sticks that Uzume and Mutsu had. I was not the only one to notice my lack of wood no pun intended. Uzume saw the silverware I had as my tool to eat and grinned.

"Hey Otieno do you know how to use chopsticks." My eye twitched at the stupid question but in the end I had to shake my head. Before it I didn't have anything to eat with I used my hands instead and if I had something like soup or broth I drank it directly from the bowl. Table manners have never been my strong suit and in my line of work why would it matter. I take lives to live and love to fight so proper manners at the table was useless to me. I remember the looks I got in any place I ate at in Edo that had sticks as the means to see and snapped them in half and ate with my hands if it was meat or ate from the bowl if it was anything else. I ignored the woman next to me best I could which only made her smile grow.

"I can teach you if you want?"

"No thank you. You taught me what cosplay was and now I am in a very bad mood so no. I don't wish for you to not teach me how to use wooden sticks."

"Chop sticks Otieno-san," Innkeeper corrected. "I do not care what you call them. I will stick to a spoon, fork, or my hands any day." Innkeeper giggled, "My, my Uzume you really should train your man better."

My eye twitched again. "Now wait a second I…"

"Know but as you can see he is a little hard headed." Uzume said finishing my sentence with her own.

"Hey, no one trains…"

"Oh no its okay Otieno-san if you wish not to use chopsticks but you are not allowed to use your hands at the table. It isn't proper."

"In my line of work proper manners don't even matter so forgive me if my table manners are a little lacking."

"See, born under a rock." Uzume whined.

"Oh my, you were born under a rock. That explains a lot."

"I was not born under a rock." I said in some sort of threatening defense. Uzume and Innkeeper giggled at me and started to serve each other food.

"You mentioned your line of work Otieno-san."

"Huh?" Miya looked back up to me and smiled. "You said in your line of work manners isn't essential. I am wondering what you did before." Uzume stopped eating for a moment and looked to both of us. Mutsu though kept eating not really caring about the subject of my previous way of life. I shrugged and drank my water before answering. "A little bit of everything really. I never stayed in one place for long."

"You traveled to a lot of places?" I thought on whether or not to answer truthfully. I have been to places most will never see and pray never have the option to see. I have traveled to corners of the globe that most people have and never will reach. I have done things that the common man would lose his mind too if he witnessed even half of what I have done. I sighed thinking of the many towns I have seen and people I have met and nodded my head while eating some of the rice and eggs the Innkeeper made for us.

"Really? Like where?"

"Calm down Uzume, yes I traveled but I stayed mostly in this half of the world." The woman grinned filling with questions to ask me about my travels.

"Where have all you gone too?"

"I spent a good time in Europe and the middle east doing odd tasks here or there."

"And they paid with gold and jewels," Uzume asked in a bored tone. "Yes, you could say that."

"Gold and jewels?" Innkeeper asked lightly. I shrugged again and continued to eat and finish my food.

"Well I am done and tired so if you need me I will be upstairs."

"What." Uzume looked down to my plate and the bowl I had to see that it was completely empty and there was evidence that I have seconds and thirds. "H-how…"

"He's a fast eater." Mutsu said before standing up and bowing to Innkeeper before he too left after me to the hallway.

Uzume shook her head when she saw the empty dished neatly stacked where Mutsu sat at. "He ain't the only one." We both heard from behind the wall before Mutsu followed me away from the women of the house.

I sighed and rubbed my head as a slight pressure began to build in the back of it. I can sense just how anxious Mutsu is right now. I told him about Karasuba and I didn't wish too. I meant to keep that bit to myself but still it left my lips. Maybe it's for the best. Secrets can tear a partnership apart and I can't have that happen with my sekirei and I. They are bonded to me and that's us a threat to more than just my barriers. I might have to kill them later in the game if mankind itself become threatened. I don't desire to have another genocide on my hands.

"Ashikabi…"

"You can call me by how I introduced myself with," I stated implying that I prefer not to have more titles than I already have.

"I understand," he said but averted his eyes from me. "But why?"

Such a vague question. I think this is the second one he's given me, or maybe the second gauge response to date. That why can mean anything and he could be asking me anything. Sadly I understand fully what he's asking me.

"Because I needed to answer a question." Before my second sekirei could respond I rose my finger to my lips and beckoned him to follow me. Silently he obeyed and trailed behind me as I made my way to the front door. I could feel eyes on me the moment I left my room and even before. I've found a few camerra things spread out around the Inn so I know someone is watching me. I know that they are listening to me. I know that I will meet them eventually and be forced to confront them about these devices soon. I'm unsure when this will be but I do know I will place traps around my room and my affects as well as in the panels of the ceiling just incase a rat starts to scurry around above. For now I need to distance myself from this Inn and it's watcher bidding her time while behind her little hidden door.

"Did you get an answer for that question?" Mutsu asked with his arms crossed while I pulled on my boots.

"I will in time and whether or not it ends in blood is unknown to me at this time. When finally find an answer you'll see." I paused face moment when an idea crossed my mind. "Would you like to meet her again?"

"No, I don't wish to but I'll follow you as you go."

I get the feeling that the parting of the first Discipline Squad had a bit more conflict than a simple walk away. Breaking up a fellowship is never simple and clean. There's a mishap or conflict between member and leaves unnecessary tension.

"Since you asked why, for that as well, I might as well show you before night falls. I need to explore the city a bit more as well now that I have a temporary safe place to return to when I'm tired."

I pulled myself up to my feet and reached for my coat on the side.

"Are you heading out?" I heard from behind us. That sounded like the Innkeeper and I was right when I turned and saw her next to the stairs. "Yes, I have an appointment," I answered with my coat in hand.

"Dressed like that?" The woman looked down at my clothes then back up to me. "I never saw you as old fashioned to wear something like that daily." I didn't see what was wrong with my clothes but then thought back to that mangoa thing I read before and the style of the humans within. My clothing draws attention in this time and I need an… upgrade. I felt myself die just a little inside from that.

"What do you recommend?"

"New clothes for one. I can get Uzume to…"

"No," I said quickly and shook my head. I need to distance myself from her today anyway. On top of that she's doesn't need to know about my first. It's better for the both of us if she remains ignorant of my first until the time I understand the situation fully. I'm sure I have plenty of resources in the city to assist me with my clothing problems so I can blend in much easier. Mutsu has frequent this city longer than me meaning he must know a place I can get a set of clothes.

"I would offer you a set of my husband's clothing but you'd… fill them up quickly," she said with a smile as if implying something. I'm not the average Japanese man. I'm not the size of the average Japanese man. I'm not even Japanese. I'm African decent and it shows with his dark my skin is, but mixed with French on top of being a prior German servant boy. I'm as far from Japanese as a man can get so of course I won't fill her husband's clothing.

I going to assume her husband happened to be Japanese seeing that most of the Sekirei I've met have such names. Usually the man or woman who discovers a new phenomenon names it in their language being why my Sekirei are named the way they are. Uzume is white along with Mutsu. One should be a Bethany and the other maybe Albert. The only Japanese Sekirei I have met so far are the Innkeeper, Karasuba, and that one girl I stabbed before. The rest are everywhere from all walks of life. One I noticed appeared to be an Indian in my eyes. I suppose it doesn't really matter what their race is based on color. They are all Sekirei and I will treat them as such if I can. I'm going to treat them different depending on their appearance, I can't avoid that, but I will be fair and keep them at a neutral level until given a reason not to. I don't wish to kill one yet either.

"I'll figure it out Innkeeper. No need to worry about my state of dress for long." Before she could continue I turned my back and walked out the door. Mutsu bowed his head to the woman and followed behind me with the city down south in sight.

* * *

AN: This took a moment to write but longer to get out. Too much Mass Effect and Persona 5. Recap on what happened so far is a man escaped a different realm back to our world in the future. He's a hunter and found Sekirei as prey until he actually began to understand them. Now he find out that there is a dark history between the current sekirei that he has met and is curious enough to figure it out. I planned to have mostly a story within the original but for the effect of this character's introduction to the world to shift certain powers. I put this as supernatural for a reason.


	8. When Day Turns to Night

Chapter 8: When Day Turns to Night

Finding a good clothing store wasn't too difficult once I asked around. Some of the residents of this city stammered and struggled with talking to me in English and I just let them attempt and stumble in my own form of "sick satisfaction in seeing the little people struggle," or so I heard from one of those little people. It go to the point that Mutsu had to step in and ask for me in fluent Japanese of this time. I learned quickly that my version of Japanese is severely bastardized at best because of the many sources it happens to stem from. On top of that I don't fit in compared to where I originated from. I'm a stranger in these lands and it's not difficult to see. I came the realization that the people I've spoken to already are 'intelligent' and so can translate what I say. It brings me back of when Natsuo remarked on my multiple dialects. I need to find a teacher or maybe a scholar so I may "borrow" the appropriate version of this language so I can speak to the 'common' men and women in this city.

When Mutsu spoke to them they began to relax a bit more. They even pointed him in the right direction. One man decided to insult me for my ignorance of the Japanese language until I replied in what Japanese I knew as fluently as I could if he decided to speak ill of me again he'd best be ready to defend his opinion. The man quickly bowed with a series of apologies then walked away sweating a couple buckets and not just because of me. The man insulting me earned a death stare from Mutsu which was a bit impressive. Even more so than the look I can give if it made me reach for the blade on my back.

I've forgo Love and Hate for now since I couldn't eat that the table with them, and I didn't bother with collecting them before I left. I don't feel I'll need to be willingly armed today. I'm just going out to get some clothes and destroy the set I have on now. My coat will stay though. I went through too much, killed too many, and sacrificed more than I could afford at the time to get this. It can restore itself and has deep pockets, it can hide me away from view with obscure distortion, and it's worth a King's ransom. I never leave a safe space without it.

After getting proper clothes for myself out of the way I can travel west and meet up with Karasuba. I can tell her my answer and pray to a god she decides to follow my lead without resulting to violence. I'm really not in the mood for that today. I'm not fully certain whether or not she'll try to kill me once I confess but I'm willing to take anything she's willing to give me. I made the decision to wing another sekirei despite having a woman like Karasuba as my bond mate and I must accept responsibility for my actions. I blame the effect Uzume has had on me for this. I don't wish to conflict with anything today but I know that's an impossibility.

Note for the Codex (once I obtain one): Sekirei can distort your disposition implementing their own temperament upon you during times of fragility.

"Are you sure here, Mutsu?"

The clothing shop that he took me too was a bit out of the way. It's not a store that anyone he talked to told him to try, and we past many of the ones those people pointed out too. This one happened to be in an alleyway without signs or posters indicating that there's anything back here. It wasn't until we reach the shop that I could see inside to ensure this was in fact a clothing shop. I could see racks of trousers or jeans and blouses and shirts hung up inside. It was decent and clean but still nothing major like many of the big named stores we pass by to get here.

"Yes. The woman inside will help you."

"Hm," I hummed before sparing the man a glance. He knows the woman within it seems. "You have an attraction towards this woman?" Mutsu just looked at me. "Don't try to lie either, because you know we can't lie to each other." The bond between us is the strongest that I have so far. Why? I can't even begin guess but it is. Karasuba's tether to me is quite transparent. Uzume's is a bit more… compact than that symbolizing just how weak my bond to them actually is. Mutsu's bond with me is solid compared to theirs and I feel this is right. A connection between two men like us is too difficult to figure out. We are kindred spirits and more alike than either of us will admit.

I felt something through the bond I let slip through and it's apprehension. I narrowed my eyes at the man when I saw a lie swimming in his. He sighed and nodded then said, "She took me in for a time." And before I came into play. He was attracted to this women and then he felt me and we linked together. I'm curious now. I want to meet this woman that drew him in. Mustu continued once and said, "I stayed with her before I felt my first."

"Your first?" I questioned.

Mutsu still persists to give me more questions than I have answers. While this irritates me this forces me to figure it out on my own and might instill a sense of accomplishment once I piece it all together. He left this woman's shop to search for his first. Oddly enough I feel that his "first" isn't me so that make me wonder what or who his "first" really is. Maybe I'm overthinking this but I still placed this question in the back of my mind for now. Currently, it's not relevant to this case so I continued on with the previous topic.

"If you wish to continue your relationships before you met me you can. I'm not here to collar you."

He felt honestly grateful for my words and bowed his head respectfully towards me. "Thank you."

"Anything," I replied and earned a smile from him from it.

Mutsu waved his hand towards the door before opening it for me to enter. And so I did. I walked into the store with high expectations since it's Mutsu who recommends it. I hope this isn't a waste of my time. The inside carried the scent of shame and disappointment, but I couldn't guess why. In the very back behind a counter I noticed a woman with shoulder length black hair cut into a bob, black makeup around her eyes, and purple lipstick on her lips. I noticed a black spiked choker around her neck as well as chain spike bracelets around her wrists. If what I'm witnessing and what I've read means anything she's dressed in that punk girl style that Himeko was in. If the persona that Himeko equipped means anything then that also means this woman is the sort that takes pleasure out of taking advantage of foolish men with strange tastes. She uses a stoic, nearly cynical, set of expressions and a dull tone to either push you away or make you snake fascinated.

After getting a more **spiritual** look at this woman I've become curious about this woman who caught Mutsu's attention. Even though she dresses in black, with many unnecessary accessories, what I feel from her isn't necessarily dark or demented. It's quite neutral if that's possible. Humans are not neutral. They are good or evil. This is one of the world's absolutes and nothing can break this. There is no grey area. And yet this woman is grey. Not even Mutsu or myself are grey and she is.

The woman looked up from her leaned over position with her chin resting on her hand with her elbow resting on top of the counter when she noticed me. "Ah, a customer," she said dryly before leaning up and acting just like I've read in the maanga thing. "How may I help you Mr. Assassin's Creed Revelations." She insulted me I believe. I think this because I know that twinkle in her eye anywhere. Her expression has remained stoic but those eyes don't lie. I'm beginning to see what Mutsu saw in this woman and found myself finding her presence tolerable despite the fact she just insulted me in the few words I've heard before our introduction. That's not good manners.

This Assassin's Creed thing she brought up has me confused as well. What was this because I'm sure this isn't the first time I've heard it mentioned? What is Assassin's Creed and why is it brought up like this? It sounds like a bad English play since assassins do not have a creed. I would know being one. What we do have are standards in place of faulty emotions that force us to make mistakes. Maybe it has something to do with my appearance since I deceptively guise myself like an 18th century assassin, or sometime during that period.

Instead of wallowing in silence I responded, "I need clothes to help me blend in with modern society. Can you help me ma'am?"

"Please don't call me ma'am. My name is Shion sir."

"Please don't call me sir. You may call me Jäger."

"Hunter in German huh? You see yourself as superhuman predator so something?"

"Death in Japanese huh? Do you see the coming irony within your own name?"

The woman named Shion smiled but it wasn't a bright and fair one. It felt almost evil and sinister in intent even though I still didn't feel any change in her alignment. Her aura is still grey and incredibly well balanced. She's amused that much I can see but not much else. She leaned up from her position until her elbow left the countertop. A small smirk blessed her lips and her eyes pieced through the shadow of my hood into my eyes. I like her eyes. It's almost as is she's void touched if that's possible. Then again it would explain her current alignment. I reached for my hood and pulled it off and met her own blacked eyes with my darkened brown ones for a clearer look. I like this woman and look forward to our coming business.

"So if I may "call' you Jäger then that means that what you told me happens to Not be your name huh," she deduced so easily. It's not like that I'm hiding such information. Any name associated with me will die with me. Someone's also a clever little fox or maybe a shrewd opportunist. Not many people would ask me personal questions like that unless they wanted to be placed higher on my list everyone is on. A woman like this I would definitely avoid outside of professional necessity.

"It makes me a bit curious of what your real name is…"

"Curiosity kills more than cats Shion," I said in an empty tone but not threatening in any way. I was simply stating a fact. I specifically remember one little girl that tried to question me without knowing her place and paid for it and luckily not with her life.

The woman stared at me critically. It seems my response made her defensive and reluctant to divulge any further. That's good, I don't have the time or the desire to indulge her curiosity. Playing a game of words with me can be harrowing for my opposition. The most predominant reason I haven't resulted to my typical means during business is the fact that Mutsu appears to have a relationship with this woman seeing that he believes she will help me. While I don't disapprove it doesn't give her headway to question me. Her insinuation as well don't amuse me.

"I see," she muttered before placing her fist over her lips and clearing her throat. "Help you blend in huh? I can help you with that Hunter." The woman turned around to step off but not before stopping to give me a sideways glance. "I pity whomever in this city is your prey, Hunter." She said before walking around the counter to walk up to me with her already crossed over her chest.

That's an interesting note to go off on I have to admit. She will pity my prey? I suppose someone has too though I don't see the reason why she'd waste the energy. It will end up dead anyway. She's translated my name and sized up just how much of a threat I am on top of this. She knows to hold back on questions now and that I care little for her life outside of what Mutsu would want.

This woman is interesting.

Now that I can see her from top to bottom the woman stands close to my height, stopping at my eyes, but that's only because of a set of black footwear that pushed her heels up five or so inches. That places her at five feet and four inches I believe while I stand eight above her. The entire time her eyes focused on mine and I gazed equally into hers. I can see how Mutsu grew to like this woman.

"What do you hunt other than people that ask too many questions," she asked in a condescending tone.

"Humans who decided that being condescending towards an unknown stranger is smart," I responded the same way asked me her previous question.

The woman bite her lip and turned towards me with a heated glare. One that I can understand for I did indirectly threaten her twice within her own establishment but not without reason. I decided to disregard her gaze and continue with my response. "I also hunt monsters wearing the face of men and men wearing the face of monsters," I said firmly as if I've rehearsed this line a thousand times. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes and they aren't always inhuman. Most monsters I've hunted are human and capable of feats that put monsters to shame. I suppose it all depends.

"That's an interesting set of answers," the woman chortled a bit before turning back away from me. "But can you blame someone so shrouded in mystery to raise questions." I shook my head but left it at that. The woman noticed this and sighed, "What can I do for you?"

"A decent amount of favors I'm sure," I said before letting my arms fall back down to my sides from my chest and faced her seriously. "I need to blend in with modern society. Can you help me?"

"That depends on how you found my small town establishment in the first place." I pointed behind me towards the man standing in my shadow out of view. The woman leaned to the right to see and her eyes widened a bit. "Mutsu?" She said before leaning back up and walking around me so have a clear view of him.

"Good afternoon Shion," Mutsu greeted to the woman with a respectful bow of his head and she rolled her eyes. She looked back at me for a moment then to Mutsu who nodded as if confirming something said between the both of them.

"You're the one he needed to find?" she asked me.

"I suppose so. Mutsu has told me that you can help me and I'd appreciate it. I can pay without problem as well as any debt that Mutsu allotted during his time with you."

Shion rose an eyebrow and crossed her arms again. "Really? You'll pay for the food he ate, clothes he ruined, damages from that cooking fire he caused, and my car he totaled?"

I looked back to Mutsu and he refused to return the gesture. Is he really so clumsy with "normal" activities outside of fighting, sleeping, and loitering that he caused this woman that much trouble to that extent? I can believe it because I'd probably end up doing the same except with the cooking fire or the clothing. I'd do much worse like attract a gang or debt collectors that will burn this place to the ground or lure a troll in here. There would be nothing left that's for sure.

I shook my head and looked back towards the woman and nodded. "I can, yes. Mutsu is my responsibility and any grievances that has befallen upon you are also mine. Tell me how much you are owed and I'll pay for anything he and I owe you and hope to continue a healthy professional business relationship in the near future." This led me to one important bit of information that Takami told me before I left the tower. She told me that all sekirei have this thing called a "Black Card" with near unlimited funds. She even offered one to me but I turned it down but Mutsu should have one. Either he doesn't have one or maybe he refuses to use it. This is something I'll have to question him on later.

"Nice words but sadly that's all they are. I would like to see results," she sighed. "Though I won't say no to more business."

I reached into my coat pocket for that stack of paperbacks Karasuba slipped into my coat and held it in front of the woman. She reached without hesitation and picked it out of my hands and rolled through it. It's a decently sized stack so I hope this is good enough to appease her. If not I have more than where that comes from.

"This is about half of what I'm owed."

Now I'm truly astonished. That stack is over 150,000 yen! What did Mutsu do?

I turned back around and he couldn't look away this time because I gripped his shoulder and turned him back towards me. He's not hiding from this and I have to know where he falls short anyway. I can't have him breaking other people's effects and not paying for them. I knew I should have noticed this when I was forced to open doors for him as well as keep him from destroying the door in the hotel where I acquired my Angel. I had a feeling something was amiss but thought little of it. I've half a mind to sell him to her until he pays back his debt if not for the fact I need him with me to guide me through the city and offer further insight on the sekirei.

Mutsu finally looked into my eyes and I saw a bit of shame and mortification within them. "I'm... unsound at menial tasks," he said guiltily which I can accept. If you have a problem or issue you face it not run away to you ashikabi. That's something I'd expect Uzume to do over him. I pat the man on the shoulder and allowed a smile to curse my lips. Though fake it's meant to show he has some support from me in hope that he improves.

"I'll pay the rest," I declared and let my hand fall and faced the woman once more. "For now, can you help me?"

"I can, yes. I'll just add the clothes your partner ruined to the bill." With that she turned her head and gestured for me to follow. The woman took the aged old disaster that was my clothes and dressed me in some more modern day clothes. She gave me dark blue jeans. I believe she called them denim or something like that. She snagged my boots and tossed them away as well. I was about to protest until she out a pair of black boots in front of my face. The laces are dark brown and fit so well on my feet I thought I was walking on pillows. The woman, Shion, has a bit of everything and it showed. She gave me a black leather belt as well as a black and white horizontally striped shirt with a white undershirt. The clothes are loose fitted at places but tight at other places. I could move without much restriction so these could do for now. She wished for me to wear accessories like a gold necklace or dog tags, but I rejected this. Unnecessary gear is redundant.

I put my arms through my coat sleeves and buttoned it closed. I pat down my coat and faced the woman. "How much do I owe you?" The woman pushed a pad in front of me with numbers written on top of it but the pad was strange. It has buttons and the numbers don't look as if human hands written them. She pushed a few and the number appeared. Fascinating, it's like one of this mechanical calculator machines I've seen tax collectors use in the past. Before I could get to caught up into this thing Shion is using I reached into my pocket and pulled out the exact amount she wanted in paper back and handed it to her. I have a fair amount of cash on me thanks to Uzume. She said if I can pay with cash do so instead of my card thing I still don't know how to use.

Shion held a shine within her eyes and quickly counted it before nodding in approval. "You're a strange one, Hunter."

"Strange times bore strange people, Shion."

I felt that our interactions ended there and it showed when the woman bowed to me. I bowed as low as this grey being and turned to walk out. I like that woman. She doesn't waste time and isn't afraid to state her wishes or speak her mind. While dangerous I can appreciate that. Mutsu said his parting words and followed behind me out the store back into the city streets. I rose my hood up and walked through the crowd with a large building in the center of the city as my aim.

As we drew closer I began feel her and able to seek her out with ease now. Karasuba can sense me as well I'm sure and what I felt though the bond made my spine shiver. I doubt once I tell her the truth she'd still be this eager to see my face yet again. Mutsu is nervous and hesitant to meet her but might as well get this out of the way before anything conflicting can arise.

"You like that woman Mutsu," I worded bluntly.

"I don't mind her," he answered which was a yes if I've ever heard one. "Ashikabi-sama, if I may ask, why do you wish to tell me about yourself and not Uzume? Isn't this something the both of us should know and understand?" I'm not sure what "this" is or whatever he's talking about but I have an idea. I find the fact he's avoiding the Shion topic droll on top of this.

"It's because the less your sister Sekirei knows about me the better. I've taken note that because of any change or extreme interactions between myself and Uzume she actually began to "touch" my soul and an innocent good individual like her is better left in the darkness of ignorance than touched by mine."

"But I'm fine to be inflicted by this darkness you speak of?" He asked unsure on how to feel about my admission.

"Mutsu, I need you for you, not to make me comfortable. You're not with me so you can whisper gentle words in my ear like your sister seems to enjoy doing. I need you because you're not innocent like your sister. I need you because you have slain hundreds and accepted the fact that you have. I need you to be my partner, the left to my right, so any and all secrets that I hold you will be one of the first to find out about it them, because I trust you more than anyone else in the entire world. Even more than your sister who is hurt from a simple "no" to sleep with her."

Mutsu nearly tripped but caught himself quickly. "I-I see," he coughed and cleared his throat. "I appreciate this Otieno-sama."

I shook my head at the man. "You shouldn't be because once I tell you everything you will be urged to either run away or end my life," that is if he was a Jäger. I'd end me if I met myself outside this body or someone like me. "But for now I'll leave the history lesson for tonight when I begin exploring. For now I need to give Karasuba my answer."

"I'm still unsure on why," Mutsu said and sent his confusion my way through the bond.

"Karasuba is my first Sekirei and you my second. Despite this being linked to me what I found out from her and her sister sekirei had me leaning towards annulling your race. I decided not to and bare witness to your kind and the affects you have on humans like me and normal ones. I will be acquiring a test subject and begin comparing them to myself and other ashikabi as soon as I find a good subject to begin my experiment. As time goes by I will be studying your race closely. I find your race to be fascinating and interesting." Nearing God like with the potential I see within them. Mutsu with the power of a demon behind it could possibly crack a country down the center. That's a demon and not a god. A god would be much worse.

"But why Karasuba?"

"She's compatible with a side of me like you are which most can't see outside of when I equip that mask. Because of this and my own curiosity I let instinct take over. It wasn't until I felt her on a much… higher… level that began to understand how lost she is." Then again I'm quite lost as well. A different time. A different era. So many wonders are around me and yet so many old prey still linger. I'm not sure what to do here other than my own investigation or preparing for the next apocalypse to come.

"You think you can help her find her way," he stated and I couldn't dismiss his words at all. It's true. While I was an assassin for a time I was also anointed as a punisher of all things evil and heretical. I used to be a savor of those who lost their way. Becoming a cleric of the holy church did have an effect on me when it came to purifying a spirit. It developed a sense of humility and justice within me and this sense of Justice crossed over to Karasuba. Kazehana is lost as well but she has a torch and a map. Karasuba is stuck in a dark pit wallowing in self-loathing and disgust for her surroundings whilst in excruciating silence and darkness. I want to save her from herself and while I may fail I have to try. The code demands it.

"If I can't then I die and she dies with me," I declared. This is what will happen I'm sure of it for I've seen it. If I can't save her then I will die, Mutsu will die, Uzume will die, and many others along with her in my vision from last night when I slept. I can remember it vividly with her and me striking each other down as the last ones standing. Everyone else were dead. We finished it in a field with the bodies of my sekirei surrounding me. I recognized Uzume and Mutsu but the few others were shadowed over figures. Regardless of how indefinite this future is I don't wish to accept this fate. I didn't survive the shadowlands for so long just to die because of some inhuman females and their life bonds. I'm going to save her and I feel that Uzume and Mutsu will play a part in this, and maybe more if I fall back on what Kazenhana told me. If feel that I can't I might have to kill her but will I is the question.

"If you die we die with you. You understand this correct?" How could I not? It was explained to me that a sekirei whose ashikabi ceases to breath will fall into a coma and die in time thus following their life mate into the beyond but I'm not worried. I've seen it on top of this. I'm not going to die any time soon until I gain as many as I saw in that vision. I'm not sure what the number is neither do I care but I do know that I have time. That's what I thing is most important.

"For now don't worry about that. Once I meet up with her then we can continue." I glanced back to my second. "There's no need to be nervous."

"I'm not nervous," he denied but I know a falsehood when I hear one. He's good but not good enough. On top of that I can see his aura and it's the color of a man unsure of his station. Why he feels the need to lie to me I'm not sure but it's on him whether or not he wishes to discuss it. Mutsu must have noticed my glance and it bothered him enough to sigh and uncrossed his arms. "I have history with Karasuba," he admitted.

"What sort of history?" I questioned.

"After our leader walked away a successor had to be chosen to lead the charge against our remaining enemy." Enemy? I know that the discipline squad is meant to enforce the rules and regulations of the Sekirei game but that's the current generation now that I think of it. There's the other generations that came before it as well that I know close to nothing about other than one crucial detail; Karasuba wasn't the leader for either one and that woman is very keen on imposing her will upon others. That means she wasn't leader for a set number of times which really emboldened her inferiority complex I'm sure. Mutsu somehow fits into this.

"I'm going to assume once your first leader walked away, as you said, the mantle for leader was bestowed to you," I deduced. "Karasuba probably didn't like that and that led to tension among ranks."

Mutsu nodded. "For the most part that's how it went." And that's why Kazehana called him general for some reason. So it's true that even though Mutsu is ranked as number five his prowess places him above the other three; two of which are exceptionally powerful in their own right. I can't imagine Mutsu as the frontal lines sort though. The vibe I get from him is an even mixture between a Samurai and a shinobi. What exactly was he in charge of when he was leader?

"I was only the "General" for a couple weeks though to fight our new enemy." Such a short time. I waited for a Mutsu to continue but he said nothing to follow on which was fine. I heard more than enough for one session to get a clearer picture of both my sekirei to understand them better. Mutsu specializes in something. Some ability that allowed him to hold the mantle of Leader of the Discipline Squad but only for a short time. During that short time he played his part and then he left.

"Did Minaka want more from you that you weren't willing to pay?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered immediately to my question. This time he was telling the truth. This left a few questions but I feel they are for a later time.

"If Karasuba tries anything, like exciting a fight, I'll handle her." I'm the only one in this city that probably can and I really don't think this is a good thing. Is it a blessing or a curse that the devil desires only your soul out of millions? One for the many. The role of any Jäger. I wonder now are there anymore in this world to stop them? I could create more, I have the means to, but who would subjugate themselves to my fate?

I shook my head of these thoughts and continued on. We arrived at the building just as I cleared my mind and walked up the stairs. I heard the lack of that click from Mutsu's footwear and looked back. He didn't even climb the first step. His eyes asking me if I'm sure about this so I beckoned him on. "It will be fine," I reassured the man. Mutsu took a breath and started up the stairs.

As well entered the building I saw the man at the front desk and he saw me. "Ah, sir?" He called and rose his hand to wave me down. "I'm sorry but are you here for…"

I faced him and walked up to the desk. The man quickly shut his mouth when I placed my hands on the countertop and tilted my head a bit. The man stared at me as I swayed my body left and right, never breaking eye contact with him. "You. Saw. Nothing," I commanded as I pushed a sip of Od through my hands into the air. "You. Saw. Noone." I spoke these words though not in Japanese. I spoke in a language I'm sure neither one of the men in this lobby could understand. "Do you understand me?" I looked into his eyes and noticed them widen before going blank. I stopped my snake fascinated swaying and leaned forward.

"I-I s-saw… nothing," the man whispers serenely in his language as he fell into his own little world.

I pushed off the counter and walked away to the elevator ignoring the looks I received from Mutsu. I pushed the button for Karasuba's floor and crossed my arms as we rose up floor by floor. I was forced to use spirit sight to find her in her room and count the floors up because I don't remember the buttons she pushed. I'm surprised she's living here right now with Natsuo still. I don't mind because I know he won't try anything but still it's a bit strange. I know in the maanga I read that women that have a man don't appreciate when another woman is living with them. It makes them competitive and one the off chance, severely violent. The same goes for men who have women that live with other men. It spells trouble in the end. I don't believe that this knowledge is lost on her and yet she persists. Why do I express concern anyway? What a mystery.

"How did you that?" He suddenly asked in the midst of me listening to the chimes this room elevator thing was playing. It's strange but oddly catchy.

"I hypnotized him," I said simply but earned a stare from him. I would have assumed it was obvious but still I could feel it on the back of my neck. I guess I can't just use a simple answer to pacify him. A demonstration it is.

"It's more seamless on men with weak willpower." I took a breath and forced out my Od and took contact with Mutsu's. The man tensed and grunted as if stuck in the stomach but recovered and took his original spot once more though with a pressured expression on his face. "Men or women with stronger will can fight against influence like this one but with a level of stress on their bodies depending on how much of my soul I impose upon you. I don't normally do this or impart suggestions in the minds of normal humans but I didn't want him tipping off Karasuba."

I took another breath and Mutsu sighed as well as the pressure ceased. To be honest I'm a bit surprise he stood up to pressure of that magnitude from me. Most B-class monsters would nearly drop on all fours if I did that to them. That just goes to show that Sekirei truly are superior beings if Mutsu could stand up to my soul without backing down. Mutsu can kill me same with Karasuba. Uzume could kill me as well with how close she's getting whether I wish it or not. If you can stand up to my Od then you have a higher chance than most.

"Any more questions Mutsu?"

"You must be human to be capable of being an ashikabi and you have abilities outside that of a normal human. How is that possible if you're not a legacy?" There he goes again with the Legacy bit again. The only legacy that I know about is the sort that I am. I'm human but altered to better suit the hunt because of the bloodline I stem from. One of which that's better left unsaid and unknown by humans. Mutsu was truly lucky yesterday when he wore that expression full of confusion. I might have killed him if not.

"Who knows? If I'm a legacy then it bears no weight on who I am and was brought up to do."

"It does though," Mutsu spoke out instead of his usual mumbles and whispers. "That would explain why you can…"

The door to the elevator opened and we reached our floor. Mutsu paused as I stepped out and waved for him to follow. "It doesn't matter Mutsu." It did before but it doesn't now. I played my role and escaped my prison and finally free. The gods above have no weight in my choices for they are now my own.

"…Project your tama…Willpower with such vigor," Mutsu continued on despite my words from before. "As for it not mattering, do you truly believe that, if you don't mind humoring my inquisitiveness?"

"I don't mind, and no," I exhaled out. "It matters for as long as I exist in this world. Until the day my body and soul fade into the blackness it will matter."

"The blackness?"

"The void. The abyss. The shadow lands. It has many names but until I can enter and never return it will always matter."

"You sound as if you wish to die," he pointed out. "I'd prefer if you didn't if only for the health of me and any brother or sister you might wing on top of us."

I scoffed and shook my head. "What makes you assume I'll acquire anymore?"

"You will," I felt something on my shoulder. I glanced back and noticed Mutsu's sword hand on my shoulder. It slid down my back and stopped right over my heart which happened to be on the right side today. I rose my hand and touched my heart over my own chest and took a breath. "You attracted Karasuba enough that she choose not to kill you. You drew in Uzume even before you met me. We are exceptionally powerful sekirei drawn to you despite having reacted to earlier ashikabi. It speaks volumes of your power, and the power you have yet to unlock."

I shrugged his hand off and shook my head. "You don't understand what you're talking about. I have no other power waiting to be revealed…" I closed my eyes and saw **Her** face. That sinister smile and lustful but savage stare. I saw **Her** face and so many more. I don't have anymore "power" I can unlock.

On another note, it's interesting that Mutsu just contradicted Kazehana by saying "power" is what drew them in to me and away from the ashikabi that they reacted to previously. Mutsu is almost implying he was reacting before I arrived here to the city. Karasuba was supposed to be winged by Natsuo, whom of which was assigned to her by Minaka. Then there's Uzume who loudly admitted to me that she reacted to and loved Chiho and yet still followed her instincts to join with me. Maybe there's more to this "compatibility" than I first thought. Instead of it originating from a compatibility on just a biological level it's coupled with something else. Maybe it's everything. I'm now desiring a sekirei with a cognizance base accomplished enough to figure out a proper algorithm instead of me making up baseless hypothesis…

My, what was that?

I shook my head of this.

"Something wrong?" Mutsu questioned.

"I'm not sure."

"I see." Mutsu left it at that instead of questioning me. He must have read me well enough to know that any questions he wishes to ask on this note will be vague at best and useless at the least.

"What can you tell me about Minaka," I changed the subject away from me to another.

"Not as much as I'd like. I made myself scarce when it came to social interaction pertaining to him" He paused for a moment. "I made sure to stay ignorant enough."

That's smart on his part. When a tool become an entity the wielder will begin to fear it. Fear turns into action in which and the wielder attempts to destroy the tool. I can understand why he decided to stay in the dark because secrets can get you killed. Especially if you know the right ones that can break another. History is full of commanders keeping their "True Intent" hidden away from their troops because if discovered everything falls apart one block at a time.

"What is your impression of the man?"

"My impression," I repeated and pondered on the answer. "At first I wanted to punch him." Mutsu hummed in response and asked me why. "Because he was irritating. Then he helped me leave the clock tower, allowed me roam without inhibiting my movements, and turned out to be quite the mastermind from what I've gathered so far." I remembered the many comments I picked up from Takami and all the others whenever I hinted about him. "You all seem to fear him and I'm sure for good reason. Even when you all bad mouth him you all fear."

"It is for a good reason."

I didn't ask why for right now, because we reached and door with Karasuba behind it. I rose my hand up and then knocked three customary times. I heard the sound of papers or books slapping a surface and then light methodical foot steps towards the door. The door opened and what met my sight was miss beautiful herself in a simple gown hanging open with it covering half of her breasts. My eyes traced down a bit and noticed she has underwear on where it counts but still who opens a door in this state of modesty in the first place? My thoughts when to Uzume and I found my answer.

Karasuba blinked a couple times before her left eye opened a bit more and she grinned. "Well, look at who we have here." She rose up her hand and cupped my cheek before scrapping her nails against my skin.

"Morning," I greeted to my first and her grin turned into a tired smile. She looks terrible to be honest. Almost like she just got out of bed but it's close to noon right now and I sincerely doubt she's the type that lounges around the house or becomes a lazy bed loiterer any day of the week. Maybe today is just a slow day for her. "May we come in?" I asked before I got too sidetracked. I'm not really in the mood having fulfilled a bit of my craving this morning though I'm not ignorant of her state of dress right now. The only difference between Karasuba right now and Uzume this morning when I knocked on their doors is the gown. Even then it's almost see through allowing me the sight of her slightly darken nipples because of said purple.

Karasuba must have noticed the fact that I was eyeing a certain area and pressed her nails into my skin forcing my attention back up. What I see from her slightly flushed cheeks and what emotion I'm experiencing from her is… provocation maybe. It's close to what I felt from Uzume this morning but not as playful or innocent. This is much darker like she wishes me both harm and pleasure, hints the fact I can feel her trying to pierce my skin with her nails to inflict some pain upon me. For now it's just discomfort not pain.

"Maybe you can if you're lucky," she smirked at me. "But you should know it's not nice to eye up a lady despite her current state of modesty before you," Karasuba warned in deathly cold whisper. Word so cold it's as if they're coming from the mouth of a reaper for Death. "But since you're this lucky I'm feeling generous."

What's that mean? If I'm lucky Mutsu and I may both enter? Does that mean she has set requirements that must be met before we can enter? That's a bit different. While I thought this through I noticed that Karasuba stood up on her toes and drew in closer to me but stopped just an inch away.

"We?" she questioned. Karasuba leaned over my side and spotted Mutsu standing firmly behind with his back against the wall. Her eyes opened only to narrow once more and her smile fading away into one akin to the tired smile from before when we first met. The intent behind it is malicious in nature which isn't a good sign. "Why isn't Mutsu, the Samurai General," Karasuba sneered before pushing me out of the way to stand up before the man on the wall. "Sword please," she said my way and I sighed and pulled the blade from my back up and out of its sheath.

Mutsu looked at me like I was the biggest traitor in the world which I would be if that blade was awake right now. It would never bring physical harm to another being when asleep and it went to sleep when I went into the shadow world. It has yet to wake up, so he has no need to worry. Although he doesn't really know this and I don't plan to tell him any time soon. That would ruin the surprise.

"Thank you." Karasuba took the large sword from my hands and pointed the tip at Mutsu's chest. "This is a nice blade," she admired The Black Blade adoringly. Its black sheen and slick edge appears almost perfect for her to world by its two handed grip in the style of a Japanese katana making it comfortable to grasp. "What can do you for General, because if memory serves I said I'd cut you to ribbons next time I saw you?"

Whatever happened between them was that severe? Just what happened between the two of them for this much animosity to come into fruition?

"So tell me general… Why are you here?" Karasuba reiterated to the man as his eyes shifted from me, the man who gave death its scythe holding his life on the line, and Karasuba standing as the half-naked angel of death ready to lay her retribution upon him.

"I'm not a general anymore Karasuba. I played my part during that incident just like you and the others. And just like her," Mutsu said bring up a very emphasize "her" that unsettled the black sekirei.

Karasuba pressed the edge of The Black Blade against his neck and got closer. The scent of blood and apple cinnamon filled my nostrils and I'm sure if I saw Karasuba's eyes they'd be gaining its aggressive red outer coloration. "Best you don't speak about Her if you wish to keep your head Mutsu," she said in the lights but dullest tone possible. It didn't sound like a threat by her tone but the aura coming off of her was enough to make a normal man shiver. It was enough to make the light above us flicker and made my instincts flair screaming at me to get back. I noticed a man was watching on at the corner where the elevator is shaking in his boots on the floor just from Karasuba's unrelenting ire.

Mutsu placed his hand up and pushed The Black Blade away from his neck by the edge. He hummed when he noticed the he didn't get cut and passed me a glance. I nodded to him and smiled a bit. It seems he took a gamble just a moment ago or maybe trusted that I wouldn't give Karasuba an actual weapon that can be used against him.

He placed the tips of his fingers along The Black Blade's edge and pushed it back against Karasuba's strength with some strain. I noticed the wall behind him beginning to crack under the pressure of the clash of power between these two super powers. It's was… beautiful. I watched as their aura swirled and bashed against each other like a hurricane facing off against maybe a cyclone of the same size… No, the sizes are different and the maneuvering of the winds are as well. Karasuba's is larger but I don't believe that she has the upper hand in this clash. Mutsu's power moves and sways foiling every attempt the larger storm makes to oppress it. Mutsu is using lesser energy but with a much greater effect than Karasuba. I can feel that Karasuba is unsettled while Mutsu is feathered. It's becoming apparent to me who between the two would win in a battle of the mind and possibly the body if they were to clash. Maybe this is why Mutsu was chosen and not Karasuba.

Mutsu's energy is slowly but surely moving its way under the battering winds of Karasuba's hurricane. While Karasuba is aiming to overwhelm him Mutsu is aiming for the critical vulnerability within her force, the eye of the storm. In one fell swoop Mutsu pierced though the defense she lacked and filled the eye. Karasuba's energy become erratic and little by little it began to fail. Mutsu countered the flow of her winds and any attempt to push him out Mutsu simply moved out of the way and allowed Karasuba to hit herself. It was checkmate with a clear winner.

"Still the impatient one I see," Mutsu mused with a faint smile on his lips as he pushed the sword completely away from his body at arm's length. Restraint and control, something that Karasuba lacks but what Mutsu and I excel at is maybe another factor into why Karasuba wasn't chosen until now. I'll have to look into this more.

Karasuba stepped back while panting softly from their unseen battle between one another. Unseen by any normal man but not by me. "Answer to your question from before as well, I'm here with my ashikabi," Mutsu said modestly. "I remember your words well and held no wish to visit you but my ashikabi insisted," Mutsu spoke evenly and calmly.

"Where?" Karasuba sneered. "Where is this ashikabi because there's you, me, and MY ashikabi," she stressed smoothly without once changing her tone. She asked this but I feel she's already came to realize just what Mutsu meant but is denying it with all her power.

Mutsu his hand up and pointed at me, the final nail in the coffin. "There. OUR ashikabi."

Karasuba looked over her shoulder at me. "It's true." I walked around her and pulled the sleeping sword down to her side completely and stepped between the two of them. "He became my sekirei yesterday as well as another Karasuba. That other one being sekirei Number 10, Uzume." I decided just to get everything out into the light now before any major problems arise, and Karasuba seemed to be indifferent to this new bit of information. While I don't think this is ominous it's certainly not reassuring that she's calmed down. I can't feel anything from her right now but the coldness of the void so that makes her unpredictable. Despite this I continued on. "I also found…" Before I could finish my back was against the wall and the air in my neck restricted.

"Gah!" I choked as the pressure on my neck increased.

Karasuba had her hand on my neck and squeezed to the point I thought she might break my wind pipe. Does she aim to kill me? This will not work but it makes me curious to see another side of her. She's furious. It shows only as a fierce soft smile and sly narrow her eyes but the intimidation factor is there. I've never seen her angry or felt fury of this level before. I've witnessed it within my prey once or twice but I caused this because it made them easier to kill. This wasn't one of those times.

"Karasuba!"

"Stay. The hell. Back! Or I'll break his neck." I believed that she would as well. I feel she doesn't care that she will follow me to the void if she does this.

"If he dies we die Karasuba. Think about what you're doing," Mutsu said with all the urgency he could muster.

"Oh but I am," she increased the pressure and I choked further. I could feel my lungs screaming. By the gods this doesn't feel good. Karasuba ignored my struggling and forced me down to her level and glared directly into my eyes. "You decided to wing me. You stoked my interest. You made me swell when you told me that you wanted me. Then you said wanted to kill everything alongside me. Instead of fulfilling my expectations you decided to wing Mutsu and that white cladded cow," she growled. "Interesting." The cold calmness of her voice could have frozen a man solid. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," she chuckled menacingly. "Oh wait, I do have that chance."

"Karasuba," Mutsu said evenly. "I…"

I reached up and grabbed Karasuba by the wrists and slammed my elbows down upon hers forcing them to give allowing my feet to touch the ground. I pulled her in and before bringing my leg around hers. I pushed and swept her leg out from under her forcing her back in a stumble to the opposite wall. Karasuba was upon me like a rabid dog in under a second. I focused and parried a grab and forced her to the side. I grabbed her wrist and brought it down and twirled down and then up. Karasuba rolled around and landed on her rear after that throw. Before she could recover fully I pushed my hand down on her shoulder and forced her down on the ground. She tried to stand but I pushed her arm up threatening to break it. I brought my leg around and placed my foot near her neck and dropped down placing my knee at her neck. She struggled and resisted but I had her pinned and she knew that.

"I'm not getting up until you calm down Karasuba," I spoke with a hoarse voice. She really did some damage to my neck. I can feel the beginning pain of a bruise but it will fade away in a couple minutes at the most.

"I'm going to kill you," she promised.

"Many have tried," I sighed as I leaned back and waited for her to stop moving. Eventually she realized that I wasn't lying and attempted a ploy to get me to stand. She stopped moving and calmed her breathing to show she was calm. "I can feel your agitation Karasuba. That's not going to work." She clicked her tongue and tried to move again.

"Are you okay," Mutsu squat down and examined my neck by tilting my head. I rose my hand and pushed his away lightly.

"I'm fine Mutsu."

He sighed and stood back up to his feet and looked down upon Karasuba's humbled form. I felt her temperament still so I slowly stood up to my feet and released her arm from my grasp. I leaned over myself and hoisted her up this time to her feet with some ease. In my basic form she's not too heavy so picking her up wasn't a chore. Karasuba refused the look at me but the moment I did see the shock I saw in her eyes made the darkness in me shiver.

I leaned over in front of her and took the Black Blade in hand and replaced it to its sheath. I rubbed my neck and coughed a bit before breathing hard. "That wasn't necessary."

I walked in front of my first and looked over her shoulder. When I reached for her she leaned her shoulder back away from me. She stepped back with her hand on her shoulder and tested it herself. I suppose a powerful figure like her would never expect to be overcome by a human like me, or worried for. Then again most of her energy went to Mutsu instead of me so it works out well enough.

"And I don't appreciate being choked Karasuba." She glared at me with her fists clenched as if ready to spring again. She moved so fast before that I could barely catch wind of her. She got right under my senses but then she had to start talking and give me ample time retaliate. "Karasuba, we can talk. That's what I want at the moment… and maybe something more after." The woman blinked and stomped up to me. Her eyes met mine and her hand rose up and took my shoulder then my neck once more.

"Ashikabi-sama!"

I rose my hand to halt Mutsu. If Karasuba truly wished to kill me I'd react in kind. I'm designed to. She wants a vent, not a life to take. Well, not my life.

"May we come in?" I asked for the second time today. "And can you get a bit more decent?" During our little "Conflict" her gown fell down past her shoulders to her elbows. I reached down and pulled it up for her and smiled suggestively.

Karasuba grit her teeth as if contemplating on how to approach this. In the end she said "Whatever," with a scoff before walking into her apartment followed by "Ruin my morning."

I smirked and waved for Mutsu to follow me until I felt pain spread throughout my body originating from my core. I coughed and felt my legs give for a moment only for me to step back and hit the wall as my only source of support. I looked up while hugging my stomach and saw an extended fist in the previous place as my stomach was. Karasuba snort and walked into her apartment as if nothing happened.

"Otieno-sama," Mutsu said worried for my health from that surprise attack. I waved my hand at him to show that I was fine. I've been hit much hard than that and it's to be expected. I've seen how harems can work and how they collapse upon each other with the male losing something being a hand or his life as consequence. I didn't expect Karasuba to be accepting of this change because I know I wouldn't be if she found another man other than me. Even more so if it was a woman mostly out of principle. I still have my life and both hands so I'm blessed a punch to the stomach and a broken set of ribs is the extent of her retribution upon me. That blow would have killed a normal man but she and I both know I'm anything but normal.

I suddenly felt my body lean back up and grunted when a hand rubbed against my torso and then my sides. "One, two, and four… Four?" he finished counting off and stopped at the fourth and last rib Karasuba cracked with that punch. "She broke four of your ribs," Mutsu growled darkly. He leaned up and looked into the apartment. I caught him by the shoulder before he could try anything and he looked back. I came to the realization that even though he's not happy I was wounded in such a way he's not foolish enough to charge in there to get revenge. He's not happy but more worried for me. "We need to get you to a hospital or else this will get worse."

"I'm fine Mutsu. I've suffered worse and with who we are dealing with I should count myself lucky. She could have killed me and wouldn't have bat an eye."

I pressed my hand to my ribs and took a breath. I regulated my breathing in and out and felt the ki build within my core. With one last breath my body began to straighten out my bones and force them into place. Chi from my center flooded the effected area. A couple cracks resounded out while my bones melded back together which made Mutsu wince. I rose my hand to keep him at a distance just encase he tried to "help" me like he did for Shion.

I rubbed my ribs with my left hand focusing Od from the circuits through my matrix and healed the injury the rest of way until all pain ceased. In combat I wouldn't have bothered with using Od but that would have left my bones brittle and 30% easier to break. This way I'm fully healed with plenty of life energy to spare.

"See for yourself." I rose my arms up inviting him to so his own diagnosis like before. Mutsu took my invitation without hesitation and let his hand wander my stomach and sides. I grew exceptionally amused when his blank expression turned into one of discomposure.

"How did you do this?" He awed almost.

"I'm not normal," I said and brushed his hand from my body.

"As you can see I can handle myself in more ways than one." Mutsu nodded as he comprehend what he just witnessed. The only indicator that I healed myself was the cracking of my ribs in place and slight panting from the strain. This pain is nothing to me but still annoying to have inflicted upon me. I deeply despise pain and rather die than feel it. That's how I believe most others feel too being another reason I kill them. I only let the special ones linger.

"I have never seen anyone, much less a human, incapacitate Karasuba in such a fashion. How did you move as fast as she did?" I didn't even realize I was moving that fast to begin with. I could see her every move and planned accordingly to evade and counter her. There's much I kept hidden with my basic form without augments and it's best my basic becomes my only. I rose my hand and noticed that my matrix was beginning to manifest. I tapped into Od by accident to augment my strength and move to slightly grander than normal human levels. My control is leaving me… This doesn't bode well.

"You somehow healed yourself as well. You restored four broken ribs in the matter of two minutes. How?"

I shook my head and placed my hand in his shoulder. "I'll explain later. For now let's enter since we've been invited in." Mutsu took a breath but remained silent as he followed me into the apartment or suite. I sat down on the couch in the living room and Mutsu remained standing above me behind the couch. I'm not sure if I'm just imagining things but before she left us in the hallway I think Karasuba was pouting. It's more a look of immediate and blood thirsty murder but it's not the normal kind because it was focused primary on me and not the general masses. While I call this an improvement I'd rather not die today.

Mutsu scanned the room much like I did and appeared to be pondering something. I'm curious of what but left him to his own thoughts for now. I'm sure him and I are thinking close to the same thing. Karasuba is exceedingly neat to the point that it seems almost unhealthy but strangely enough I noticed a stack of magazines and books scattered across the table and couch. Unlike in her room at the clock tower these books aren't neat, covered, aligned, and stacked from largest to smallest.

I reached for one and looked at that title on the cover. "The Key of Solomon?" I read off the Latin on the cover of the book.

Just what is she doing with this?

I placed the book down and grabbed another. "A Black Bible?" I held up the tome of ancient black magic. One of seven volumes all of which originate from the darkest recesses of the Hebrew Hell. One that when you gather all seven tomes they fuse together to create a book so powerful that a single fool with a pathetic knowledge of latin and enough curiosity could damn a country with ease. My right arm shivered and began to ache as I held it up. The pain grew when I opened the small book for myself.

"A Black Bible. What do you mean? There's more than one kind of bible?" Mutsu asked.

"There are three forms of the Bible. One made by God of the Hebrew faith which rests in Heaven containing the True word of God. One from Hell which was fashioned by Sataniel after it fell from the grace of god. It was then broken into seven volumes for humans to use to corrupt and destroy one another damning more souls to Hell after exposure to the darkness within these tomes. The seven deadly sins personified. One was created by man as a pale reflection of both books to work as a door way to both realms." Strange though for me to find another of the Black Bibles here of all places. Why does Karasuba have books of black magic in the first place?

"You seem to know a bit about this sort of… topic?" Mutsu muttered and I simply tilted my head a bit and back.

"You could say that," I murmured as I opened the bible to the middle of its pages. Right off the bat I could hear screams of carnage, whispers of promised power, and witnessed visions of myself standing at the top of the world with millions bowing before me. The typical demonic influences from the curses placed upon these things. I've had to deal with much more powerful curses than this many times over. I have one upon my soul branded upon my right arm in fact. The Bible of Wrath was much more potent than this one labeled Greed.

I rose the book up to show Mutsu so he could see it. "I can't read that," Mutsu admitted from over my shoulder.

I looked at one of the spells and almost snorted. Of course he can't read this. I know for a fact no one here can read this. It's in enochian and that language is only known by beings of old or anyone tied to them. Sadly I can read this same with the spell on this page. I closed the book and stacked it on top of the Key of Solomon.

"So those are books of magic?" Mutsu asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Why is she researching it to such an extent as well as "The Way of Chakra'?"

"Because of me," I answered once more. "I was forced to use certain "talents' to escape her, fight against her, and teach her an important lesson. Maybe she's researching on how to counteract me. Though I'm not sure how or where she acquired these books, especially this one." I picked up another book that I recognized well enough. Last I saw it this book was buried under a collapsed castle outside of Paris caused by canon fire. I suppose not everything is lost in time. I know I wasn't.

I placed the book down and leaned back in my seat and Mutsu leaned back up like before with his arms crossed. Karasuba came back in a little over three minutes. She drew her eyes from me to Mutsu and back before sitting down on the chair across from myself and Mutsu.

"Why him?" she asked me with her arms crossed over her chest. "You gave wings to a man. Doesn't that seem wrong to you?" I expected this response and from visual experience these instances never end favorably for the catalyst, being me.

"Initially? Yes," I confessed with a little strain in my voice. "I didn't wish to wing a male sekirei but Mutsu is powerful and experienced and so worth it."

"And the other one?" Karasuba seemed equally irate about Mutsu as she is Uzume and I'm not surprised. She's thinking, "Mutsu I can understand but why Uzume," which can be counted as another one of those troublesome cases Mutsu hinted about before. "Why her or all people? Actually, don't answer that," she let out an agitated chuckle. "I should've known it would've happened," she sighed tirelessly. "So who's next on your list? Glasses or the drunk?"

I don't know who this "Glasses" person is but I know only one person who can be categorized as a drunk. "By drunk I assume you mean Kazehana?" I wasn't even aware I had a list either. If I did she's not on it unless I'm impressed and not ominously laid off like I was.

"You know her by name? Are you gonna wing her as well?" Karasuba asked dangerously.

I shook my head. "She and I are not compatible and her power doesn't interest me enough to take note of her in such a way. Do you feel insecure Karasuba because I…" I paused and rose my hand up to catch a book thrown at me and sat it down next to me. It seems she doesn't like it when I read her thoughts and emotions and state them verbally. I'll add this note to the codex later once I get a journal.

"I could kill all of them on a whim," she said coldly and I believed her. Karasuba could kill Uzume and Kazehana if she so wished it though something in the back of my mind forced a sensation of nausea upon me. I felt dizzy but why. 'Because I must… protect...' I crushed that thought immediately and traced it down. I followed the path to the deep recesses of my being and found the source. I let **Her** have it for now giving me blissful silence.

"I know but you're still troubled by something. Why is that?" I waited for an answer and I knew it would be truthful. She can't lie to me much like at the moment I can't lie to her. I noticed that after the emergence a part of me transferred to her like with the other two. Each took a part of me, not just energy to complete their emergence, but an actual piece of my being. An act of which that is life threatening to begin with and carry consequences. Each of them took something from me though I don't feel too different from it. This emergence will have after or residual effects later I just know it.

I fought the bastard smirk at the bit of discomfort that came to her face. Karasuba was my first and I let her have as much as she wanted in the beginning. A part of me that she took will keep her honest with me whether she wishes it or not. "I don't… I…" she stopped and paused as my curse began to truly take root. I've left the bond between me and her open for a reason. I need to change her and if being in constant connection with me will keep her from turning into a blood starved beast then this is how it will be. For Uzume she can no longer feel me and but I can feel her. I felt her distress when I began to close her off and it made me feel uncomfortable. Mutsu felt it when I made that Aura Pulse to banish his and her influence as well as pressure him. I don't wish for them to feel anything from me, I'll just end up corrupting them, but I need to understand them. Keeping the channel open one way, especially when it comes to the soul, is simple for any Jäger worth half his/her grain of salt. The struggle I see in her expression brings back memories.

"I came here today to tell you that I decided a "Wait and See" approach with your kind." I decided to relieve her of her inner struggle for now which I felt her both confused about the cause but thankful for the distraction. "I spread out and after speaking and conflicting with a number if your kind I came to the realization that you deserve life like any other lifeform in the world despite whatever opinion you might hold over my or your kind." Karasuba remained silent as I spoke. "I know this disappoints and… oddly relieves you but after speaking with your brother and sister sekirei this is what I've chosen… I think I know who "She' is as well."

Karasuba rose her brow at this and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well," she chuckled and leaned forward. "Who is she?"

"She owns an inn sheltering one of those who got away."

"And," Karasuba's interest peaked as she leaned further in. "How was she?"

"I wanted to kill her or leave and never see her again," I admitted and Karasuba's chuckled a bit but covered her lips to hide her smile. I looked back towards Mutsu and continued, "Mutsu agreed with my suggestion to leave which left me with a few questions."

"Being?"

"What is she? She's not like the rest of you?"

"Ask her yourself." Karasuba gave me pretty much the same answer when pertaining to the Innkeeper. So no one will speak of her to me even if they are my Sekirei. She must be exceptionally powerful to warrant such respect from both Karasuba and Mutsu. I wonder if I can kill her in single combat or would I have to result to my more potent means. Karasuba forced me to us some of my talents, but I feel the Innkeeper will push me much further than that. I might have to result to letting the barrier go to defeat her alone.

"I'll try asking the Innkeeper later." Karasuba snort and smiled lightly. Her eyes closed to the point I almost thought they were closed and she relaxed in her seat. "And if that doesn't yield results I'll ask elsewhere if I can."

A thought came to mind pertaining to a ripple I felt not too long ago. "How is Haihane," I felt I needed to ask. I felt something before coming her. Karasuba just continued to smile as if nothing was said which made me narrow my eyes a bit. "What did you do?" I can't "sense" her anymore. Before I could feel something, a connection, a weak tether between her and me. I have my answer finally and I can give it to her but now I'm not sure if I can. Karasuba is the cause of this I'm sure of that.

"I did nothing," she said slyly before standing up. Suddenly she seized my collar and lifted me up from my seat. Her lips touched mine and pillars of light burst out behind her. Pillars that morphed into wings breaking free and waving before me. Thoughts assaulted my mind and emotions my soul.

'You are mine… You are mine… You are mine…' This mantra played in the back of my head again and again. These thoughts belong to her.

Karasuba pushed me away forcing me back down to the couch. "You are mine," she declared with resolution. "Ensure that they know this and think no different. The same goes to you, Mutsu."

"Of… course?" Mutsu went along with Karasuba's determined declaration.

She smiled sweetly and made the both of us shiver.

* * *

 **Scene Change**

* * *

In the end I left the building without answers except for a promise that Karasuba and I will meet once more in the next couple of days. I'm not sure if whatever happened worked out for the best because I'm just as lost as was before I arrived at her door. Perhaps even more so.

We talked for a bit after her highly possessive declaration. I found out that she persuaded Haihane to keep with the structural integrity of the original plan for the Discipline Squad and so accept Natsuo as her ashikabi. Haihane was smart enough to ignore her instincts as a sekirei and accepted the suggestion in stride.

I wasn't sure how to react to this knowledge but I suppose it is what it is. If I had given her wings back when she asked this could have been avoided but maybe it's meant to be. Natsuo needs to heal and Haihane will play a part in this on top of Benitsubasa. Though Haihane isn't compatible with the man in the first place he needs certain tropes assigned to him or else he'll collapse upon himself. I've seen it happen before.

This was good information though. The true ashikabi isn't required to cause a sekirei to emerge. Any ashikabi can possibly force a sekirei to emerge if they trade genetic information and make the bond. That means if I so wished to I could hunt down every single sekirei in the world and wing them. I will not do this and earn the wrath of the three with me already but it's an observation.

I might need to go and talk to Minaka one of these days. If anyone knows the sekirei inside and out it would be him. He's the head of the serpent. Karasuba did pass my way that Minaka wishes to speak to me about something and has labeled me "Player One" or something like that. I'm not sure what that means but I can imagine.

I lifted up a black card that Karasuba slipped into my coat when she grabbed me and examined it intently. This is the second time she reverse pickpocketed me without me noticing. She has a knack for it I guess to slip anything on me like hat.

The card is strange. It has an energy to it. I channeled a bit of Od into it and found that it's emitting a signal of some sort. It's ot harming me so I let it be. The card is pitch black with my photo on top along with my alleged signature on the back. I don't remember giving my signature to anyone or writing in general since my appearing here. It must be along with the name I gave, someone's date of birth, and a nationality that certainly isn't my own. This United States sounds weird and doomed to fail. States can unite but eventually fall apart. Still I ponder on why she gave this to me, whatever this is.

"It's a MBI Executive Membership Identification card given only to those of Importance," Mutsu answered my unspoken question right on queue. "Only four exist in this world giving the owner status most families dream and would pay billions for. And yet he gave one to you. You must have his attention if he's willing to give that to you."

"What do I use this for?"

"I'm not sure but it's meant to tie you to MBI, bestow indefinite power in all MBI branches, and means that he has plans for you. Maybe something against your will is my assumption."

"So this is like a collar then?"

"I'm not sure what it means. I don't understand anything that goes through his mind so I recommend you ask him directly when you have the time." I thought on doing just that. The man said I could come and talk if I wished to and I don't believe he means to threaten me. If he wished to he would have a long time ago so maybe he wishes to employ my services. It's very possible he knows what I am after all I have kept all of my actions secret and with these camura things at every corner it's very possible he's seen me perform a very interesting act. I don't believe I did anything that impressive but we all have our opinions on what is and isn't.

I flicked the card up and caught it before pocketing it in my pants. "By the way, that paper that Karasuba had me look at, can you explain to me what it was about?"

"It's a contract to enlist your services I believe as a handler." I rose an eyebrow so Mutsu continued. "Karasuba is the leader of the current Generation of Discipline Squad meaning her Ashikabi will have to be enlisted as this Squads Handler, or ashikabi."

"Natsuo was supposed to be assigned to Karasuba and he has two of the current members so why can't Karasuba just follow his lead? I can't be a handler."

"Then it was best not to give the Black Dog her wings but you have and so that makes you a key piece left in the wind without proper control or contingencies to implement that control. The current members can easily be replaced as you can see," Mutsu pointed to himself but not physically. I found his logic sound and allowed him to continue. "Karasuba is the head and you her ashikabi. One of which that… interests her beyond her previous notions of murder. You are changing her that much is obvious. If I can see them then so can Minaka. That means you are her handler whether or not you wish to because you've already taken up the role well enough to appease her. You are still alive after all."

That was a fair point. I am still alive even though I should be dead right now. Karasuba has changed a bit in a short time to fight her blood lust and submit herself to the madness that plagues us both. I could feel it. That insanity that would taste so sweet that it's worth committing suicide over just for a couple sips. I know that feeling and yet she fought it and let me live. I let my guard down and that won't happen again.

"But how can this Discipline Squad exist if only she is within it?"

Mutsu shrugged. "This is a delicate matter only you, Karasuba, and Minaka can really manage but if I know how you are you will refuse to be controlled and will not take a threat lying down despite what Minika might say."

"You believe that even if your lives are endangered I won't heel to his demands?"

"Would you?"

"No, I wouldn't." My life comes before any other and if I have to sacrifice my sekirei to survive I will. It might tear the part of me they are connected to into pieces but I'll live and lives will be paid in response. You don't take from me unless ready to lose something of equal value. I've lost enough to know that if gained it can be taken but that doesn't mean you can't get retribution.

"Then that makes you even more dangerous and unpredictable. I'm not surprised that's your choice after all you've questioned on whether or not you should exterminate me and my kind. After seeing what I have now… I believe you could if you wished to."

"I've only shown a sip of what I'm capable of doing Mutsu but don't overestimate me. I'm human as the next but just more difficult to kill, because I have no wish to die… You know Mutsu this is the most I've heard you talk in one day." Then again I only just met him yesterday but it was more of a game then just to feel each other out. My throat is even beginning to feel a little dry from all the talking I've today and most of it wasn't truly necessary. I could have conveyed my thoughts and wishes in other ways but choose not to. Maybe we've reached a hidden understanding without realizing it. Maybe this is just another change imposed on me without noticing.

I really need a codex since I've misplaced my other one. Or at least a journal.

"Indeed. Maybe we just need to get this out of the way before it's too late" Mutsu made a valid point. We should talk while we can. We won't always have this opportunity especially since night is beginning to fall. Unlike Mutsu who might become fatigued from missing sleep I don't necessarily need it like he or a normal human does. I do fall asleep yes and then enter the cold void being why I'd rather be awake it. I once stayed awake for two months before I felt I had to sleep but only because of someone spying on me and figuring out I wasn't normal.

"Tell me Mutsu, do you know what an orc is?" I felt this question surface out of nowhere. I hadn't planned to be this direct this quickly but impulse got the better of me.

Mutsu rose his eyebrow. He's wondering why I'm asking him a random question like this and is formulating a valid enough response so not to sound too put off by it. "I've seen a couple yes." I glanced back at him and he quickly moved to follow on with his statement. "They are large, taller than you and I with ease, and impervious to gunfire."

I blinked once more. I didn't expect him to actually answer my question and seriously I might add. He's seen them as well? They showed themselves to the sekirei? I suppose that I should be surprised because if I can see just how bright a sekirei is a monster will as well. Monsters are always out to procreate with powerful figures being why powerful warriors and hunters are targeted in kind. Men like Heracles and Perseus fell to monsters and their desire for powerful descendants. I, like my old brothers and sisters, have been tempted many times by the very thing we hunted. We've been preyed upon for experimentation by them just like we do them. I can only imagine what might happen if a vampire and sekirei eloped. I'll have to place that in the same spectrum as a union between monster and Hunter. Chaos and death.

As for what Mutsu explained to me about the orc, that sounds about right. Orcs have muscle so dense that it can stop a ball cold in its tracks from a musket. I'm not sure how advanced the weaponry of this era truly is but I doubt it's anymore effective than in the past. I have to make sure if he's just going along with me on this or not. Before I could ask Mutsu opened his mouth to speak and I let him.

"They sometimes have horns or tusks they use to brutalize their foe. I've seen it."

"Where?" I quickly questioned him.

"Brazil."

I frowned. I've never heard of that country before. Is it in the same region as the Americas? I know the lands to the fair west were still being colonized and I've never once been there. I traveled mainly from England to here in Japan but never the Americas. "It's part of South America."

"South America?"

That means there's a North America then. I need to look at a map one of these days and study it. It's been a couple centuries so of course the world has been fully exploded and marked. I probably won't be too surprised if I hear that man has built a city underwater. Its own version of Atlantis but like that empire it will become lost in the sea. The only proof I have that it existed is a gold pendant from the natives. It would look good on Uzume, I believe.

"So why did you go to this South America then?"

"Because of… a new enemy," he repeated that constant reference to a "new enemy" that left me confused.

"And this enemy?"

Mutsu stopped in his tracks and focused his eyes on me. This glare was so heated I could feel it piercing through me with ease. I turned around and faced him only to see him point at me. I rose an eyebrow at this. "You remind me of them in a way. "Monsters with the face of men' I believe is how you worded it."

"That's interesting because there're none like me in this world Mutsu, I can insure you." It's impossible for them to fighting against any hunters like myself. I killed every last one of my kind after the Betrayal so more than likely it's a group acting out as Hunters. That or maybe it's a group of monsters that decided to get too curious. If Mutsu and his company killed them all then I owe him a favor for this favor.

"They were monsters that acted human," he made clear. So he did fight a couple monsters then. That might mean that Mutsu is experienced in monster hunting if he fought monsters with the face of humans. That's impressive for a virgin to monster kind.

"You think I'm a monster with a human face?" I asked but Mutsu shook his head from left to right.

"You are human because you are an ashikabi but the way you act isn't. You make me wonder which side you're on," because the line between good and evil is a little blurry when I look up on you. I heard the last portion from within instead of word of mouth. I don't think I've done anything that constitutes as evil. I'm a bit cynical yes and indifferent of the general masses but I'm allowed some freedom to move how I wish. I may intermingle with Karasuba well enough but for someone like that a bit of evil is needed to reign her in. "To be honest I think you might become worse than Karasuba. She's predictable and straight forward with her emotions."

"I'm unpredictable and keep my motives hidden," I finished for Mutsu which led to me chuckling a bit. This man has no idea what I'm capable of and if he's fortunate he never will. My "evil" would destroy Karasuba in an instant and take the city with it. It's best for everyone I stay the way I am. I'm not human or monster, I'm just a hunter and I need good prey to keep me satiated.

I might have found something to do this fine evening. Our time walking and wandering has given me a good amount of time to track down signifiers in the city. They all led me south so it left me to wonder just what is going on down there for such a large group of them to gather. Mutsu recommended her take either a bus again or a taxi. In the end we went with the bus.

* * *

A Couple Hours Later

* * *

This city was a never ending pain to navigate. Too many carts things…cars and such, too much noise, too close together, and the smell as well makes my nose twitch. There's a reason I cover my nose when I enter a city and it's not just to keep my identity. I swear that Mutsu and I tower over most of the surrounding population and we are also severely out of place as well. Mutsu and I dress in ways most of the population do not like I hide my face behind my hood and have a sword hilt poking out of my back. Mutsu is in like a suit, hakama, choeosong mixture that makes little since to me, wears a scarf in the middle of spring, and a carries his sword in hand instead of tying it down to his hip or back like me. The eyes that shift our way are annoying me to no end.

"Where are we going Ashikabi-sama?"

"It's a walk to help me get use to this… place."

Mutsu sighed lightly. "I walk huh? That's it?"

"I have nothing better to do right now so getting to know the layout to this city will be useful."

"And we are walking around aimlessly to do this?"

It was true that once we walked off the bus Mutsu followed me without questioning me. He followed me though a few amount of dark alleys and through a few shops. I turned back and sighed, "Yes." I felt amusement pouring out of my sekirei from my answer. Mutsu chuckled to himself. Damn Mutsu. I have my own way of memorizing my playground and walking around it until I can tell if anything changes in my surroundings is one. I can look at a map or a street and make an image of it. If anything changes I can spot it quickly.

I planned to go alone and walk around the city for a couple weeks. Mainly it's to get away from the women in that Inn for a time. I can feel something within me changing just from being around Uzume for a couple hours and it's affecting my inner calm. I'm become unbalanced and that's dangerous being another reason I visited Karasuba today. She helped even the scales today and now I plane to keep a distance. I also wish to get away from the Innkeeper as well. That smiling monster wearing the face of a beautiful housewife. I don't care how pretty a woman is if you a beast for the sake of peace it's I will steer clear until I can adapt. I don't have any time to be messing with troublesome women.

I had planned to go alone seeing that I work better when I am by myself but "Guardian" Mutsu here would give me his opinion on how it would be a bad idea for me to be out and about alone. I planned to tell him to return to the inn but know he would disobey and follow me regardless. Now here I am in the middle of the city of loud noise and short people with this Sekirei plan stuff looming over my head. Mutsu told me in a span of a couple months the sekirei will be released to find an ashikabi in this city. A few have been released being Uzume and one or two others outside the Discipline Squad but not too many others. During the time of the first phase I could probably find the strongest of the sekirei and become a super power in the city but physical power isn't an interest. This thought is cemented by the fact I have two of the original Discipline Squad with me and more to follow me in time. I'd rather mind my own business and let things go out as planned.

I could probably end this game before it could begin but then again what fun would that be? I would like to see just what these Sekirei can do and how they do it. I wonder just what Uzume, Kagari, Kazehana, and Miya can do. I can't wait to witness the power these godly beings possess. Maybe since we're out and about right now I could get a real test on a single digit sekirei that isn't Karasuba. I remember passing a good area for a spar that was empty we could use. I looked back to Mutsu and caught his eyes on the back of my head like a hawk. I hummed slightly at the dry and focused look he had one me and turned back. Or maybe not right now. I don't have my sword with me and this is for a journey through town and not much else.

"Otieno,"

I cleared my throat, "yes."

"How long is this walk going to be?" I looked around and noticed quickly that we walked all the way to the harbor and the sun was going down. To think time flies when you're walking around.

"I planned on this being a journey of sorts to discover the hidden spots of the town as well as find a suitable back up house just in case."

Mutsu was quiet for the longest time until I heard a sigh. "So we are going to walk through town until you have a "feel" for it and for a backup residence?" Mutsu rubbed his head, "Well I suppose that is smart to get a feel for things with the plan and all." I half expect Mutsu to be against this action but I guess rational thinking is how he does things. "Lead then and I will follow, but are you not worried what Uzume might think?"

I stopped in my tracks. Christ he's right. I forgot to tell her and I have no way of contacting her because I don't remember how to get to the inn. Mutsu could tell me but I have no wish to look at the Innkeep again today. It took every ounce of will in my body not to strike her down with the blade on my back. I need time to accept her as anything other than a main threat. "No, it will be fine," I hope that is. I don't know Uzume at all except she likes to tease me with sexual innuendos and outfits, she has a broad personality and is loyal (but to what point I am not sure), and she likes play as well. I can still feel her presence and it makes me shiver. Uzume is a woman I have known for less than a day and yet I've let her get close. That is abnormal for me. Mutsu is easier to deal with and more predictable than any woman in that house.

I took a moment to look around in the small strip of food stands we found our way too and recognized none of it. I may be a little lost right now with no idea where the hell I am. The only one thing I can do is move forward.

"I hope your right, my sister is not the most understanding of these sorts of things." I perked an ear at the sister part and stored it for later. I haven't heard him call her sister in such a way before. Before it was like he was speaking about just another sekirei but this time it carried just a bit of endearment.

"I'll cross that bridge later," I glanced over my shoulder to our tail. "But for now it looks like we have company."

Mutsu looked back and forth at the end of the alleyway and to the opening to the street. "Foolish vermin."

"That's my line Mutsu." Though I'd use the word "trash" over vermin. Trash is lower than vermin because vermin is alive. It may be a pest but it's alive and has a soul that can be worth persevering. Men like this are trash. One group that will never go out of style are highwaymen preying on innocent travelers.

"Well boys look at what we got here?" I rose and eyebrow and crossed my arms as one punk in a green hoody with the hood up like mind approached us. Around twelve of these idiots surrounded us all with a common look of long jackets or hoodies, blue jeans, tattoos, and sneers. "A fag and his dark bitch."

I rose an eyebrow at this. Did that boy insult me by calling me a bitch? Well, this impudent behavior will not go unpunished. They are unlucky I don't have my sword Hate with me. If I had my sword I'd warn them by cutting through their little knives and maybe cutting off their shirts or clothing. Without my sword that leaves me with my bare hands (my claws) and I was known to become a little excessive with the force when I use my hands. That makes it personal

I coughed for a second to clear my throat and faced the green hair boy. "Listen, we don't want any trouble."

"Ah the bitch speaks." I looked back to the boy from before and growled. "Oh that's okay we ain't gonna hurt ya," One put his hand on my shoulder. I tensed my hand and took a breath. "We just want ahhh!" I looked back and noticed Mutsu's hand wrapped around the punk's wrist squeezing tightly.

"Un-hand-him." Mutsu's eyes had a sort of cold anger I never thought possible. Mutsu squeezed when he didn't get an answer. The punk screamed and fell to the ground and them Mutsu released him.

"Bastard! My fucking hand!" Mutsu huffed and looked around to the punks surrounding us and frowned. "Your fucked dead bitch. No one fucks with the Skulls."

"And you," I glared at the punk from before, "don't fuck with your betters." I moved and kicked the punk in the stomach into the wall. The punk bounced off and fell to the ground in a heap. The other punks saw this and took out some form of blade in their hands though they're small and pathetic.

"You fuckers I'll kill…"

I kicked the man to my right in the face and silenced him. "Two down, ten to go." The countdown has started. The punks are now hesitate to attack me now. I glared at the boys trying to act like men and found some of them returning it. I could see what he was thinking easily.

'They're outnumbered this shouldn't be a problem.'

'What the fuck was that counting shit?'

'Who the fuck are these two?'

I smiled and waved of each one to come at me. "I will take care of this." Mutsu nodded and leaned on the wall with his eyes on me and the rest of the punks.

"Cocky fuck." One yelled.

"Let's kill that guy."

"No one messes with the Sculls."

"Get em!"

I stepped back and elbowed one in the face flipping him over into the stone below.

"Three down."

I kick one right into the wall and like the first landed on the ground.

"Four down."

I punched one in the front of me in the throat and kicked him in the chest away from me. I leaned back away from a thrust of a knife from my left and countered with a throw when I took the wrist of the man holding that knife. Before the punk could stand I dropped my foot on top his chest and forced him into the stone below.

"Six down."

I rose my foot and kicked on man in front of me in the stomach forcing him to step back stunned. I walked up to him and punched him in the chin on one side and came back on the other side while whirling around. I rose my leg for a round kick back connecting with one man that tried attack me from the rear. That was a mistake on his part when my foot impact his side. I felt something give and grinned when I realized I just broke a rib with my kick. The boy's scream was loud but a punch to the chin fixed that.

"Eight down."

Two came in to get me from both sides, one with a knife and the other with a black rod of sort. I moved back at the right time to evade one and left the other slip past me. I gripped their shoulders at the edge of my reach then slammed both into each other with a pleasant crunch. I rose my hands up and gripped hoodie from one and hair in the other and brought what they should have been using together in an audible thud.

"Ten down."

I looked up to the green haired one and waved for him to come. He is the last one standing and untouched. The punk backed up looking around to his downed comrades then back to me. "Just what the hell are you?" I looking into this things Soul and saw the very monster I gave my existence to destroy. I looked into his soul and saw the monster within. This physical body soon followed and what I saw made the blood shift. The boy's eyes widened as I saw it for the monster it truly is and projected my intent upon him. "No!" The boy stepped back out of fear. I'm sure stories of my kind have become legends like the great Hunter Burgien, also known as the boogeyman. That hunter was a legend that decapitates without remorse or regret. A Jäger we all strived to become. Legends of just what a monster sees when we want to be seen is because of that hunter. "You're a…!"

I moved fast, too fast for the boy, and took his neck in hand. I slammed him into the wall making both crack and let him fall. "All enemies eliminated." That took 1 minute and 13 seconds in all. I sighed and walked over the bodies of the broken yet still very much alive human punks.

"Nice work for a human," Mutsu praised me. I think he was being a bit sarcastic though. He probably doesn't realized that I just killed this monster.

I rolled my eyes this time and said "Let's go."

Mutsu nodded, "Very well." After that little set back I explored the south part of town and noticed that crime here is high along with monster activity. I saw a couple men in suits and sun glasses throwing a man in the trunk of his car. It was funny to be honest especially when the driver told me good evening. I saw a couple prostitutes, I mean escorts, as well that were doing their thing in those buildings and such. Some of them are not human as well. The red light district was the most annoying place ever to be in at a time like this. I shook my head to the many things I saw. I can't wait to see the west, east, and central parts of town next.

So far what I picked up during my "tour" of the southern part of the city is that it's controlled by something called the Yazuka or something like that. I've never heard of them before but apparently the rotten underground as well as the luxurious top echelon of the towns families are controlled by this Yakuza thing.

I've walked through many of their little sections and beat up a few humans here or there for attacking me but nothing too huge. Mutsu has done well in leading me around and watching my back. Normally I'd be out alone trying to figure out where or rather when I am. I'm seeing things that have me baffled still. Large screens with moving drawing of people that move on buildings that reach the heavens. These "car" things are quite impressive as well. I can run as fast as a horse can gallop and yet these "car" things can run as fast as a cheetah apparently. It's all quite amazing and yet I feel as though man has built all these things to improve life they inversely made themselves soft and worse off than it was before.

Before there was never a need for such large buildings that are obviously built to store people inside of them. Man can no longer build out so they build up instead. In the past we still tried to populate the new world and most of the population was controlled by constant bouts and battles. Some of which I participated in and ended a fair amount of lives. What I'm saying is that we didn't need this many people that they're forced to pollute the heavens with our presence. We stayed on the ground from which we came and the ground in which we returned to after death. Is the population that stifling that they scar the earth and heavens in such a way to help hold it? It's a shame really to see the planet crying. The same crying I hear every time I close my eyes to rest.

Humans of now made methods to communicate without use of wires or letters which I find quite reclusive. Connecting every man, woman, and child in the world to the 'network' may give them the choice to speak together but never be together. Face to face and up close and personal is what's right not pressing a couple buttons or touching a flat surface. Humans have never been so well connected and yet so far apart from each other.

I noticed the lack of anyone that carries a weapon other than a small knife or dagger as well. Some of them have single handed guns as well. One man pull it on me which caused me to break his wrist and kick him into a dumpster. While I'm not armed like in the past I doubt there's anything that can stop me from being ready for anything, or to make you pay for crossing me.

I noticed that this town is full of inhuman monsters and creatures. Most of the gang members I've executed have been different races of monster. One was a lamia until I placed my spear hand between his ribs without piercing the skin to pin him to a wall and then placed my hand on top his heart and stopped it. Lightning palms make silencing a target simple and clean. No needless bloodshed or proof of death by anything other than natural causes. I'd like to say I'm shocked by the fact that monsters still exist even a few centuries into the future but I really shouldn't be. If they survived three crusades and a lifetime of bigotry they can make it another few hundred years on top of this.

If only I wasn't forced through my ordeal I might still have ended the threat of monsters for the rest of time but what's done is done. The fight for the human race continues and it looks like humans are unaware that these inhuman monsters live amongst us in today's world. This is more than likely the work of an abyssal level beast. A smart and cunning monster, they have to be not only powerful physically but mentally as well. Regardless of the kind of monster they are at the top. It more than likely took control of the top of humanities social and government structure to make it seem like something you'd read in a history book.

I believed after stopping **Her** and entering the beyond that all monster kind would have ceased eventually. At lease I took care of my fellow Hunters before The end. Even though she is within my body and even now she tries to take influence over my mind and body it will never happen. I have a role to play still but she tries. Even now in the pit of my core I can feel her clawing away at the walls.

"Why do you express excessive force for some of these people?" Mutsu asked me while looking down to a man who has seven shattered ribs and both arms broken as well as a shattered jaw. The man is an troll in human skin so such wounds are nothing. They don't feel good and probably hurt a great deal but it will heal from those wounds in due time. Maybe a week. It was his fault for approaching me not the other way around.

"Because I'm a Jäger."

"What is a Jäger? I know that's German for hunter and I know about the military organization with the same name but I feel that you mean something completely different."

"I'm a Jäger. A hunter. I can see the truth and use that truth against the many evil monsters in the world whether they're human or not. I've killed many humans as well as not." I turned towards Mutsu. "Does that answer your question?"

"T-these monsters… what are they like?"

"They come in every shape and size imaginable. Some are more concrete than others but the one I just broke isn't." I looked down to the beast and frowned. Under intense stress normally the façade fades away. I rose my hand and waved it across my sight of it. The body suddenly began to shift and change. Mutsu stared at the monster as the human face faded away replacing it with a grey muscular one with tusks. "This is a troll." I placed my hand on Mutsu's shoulder and led him away from the body. His eyes were wide but instead of the shock of horror I'm more used to his was one of realization.

"They're real?" He shivered a bit and took a breath. I pat his shoulder and his eyes turned towards mine. He's fought monsters before and I'm thinking it's during his time as leader of this squad. "I thought I was seeing things but… How is this possible Ashikabi-sama?"

"Come," I beckoned him to follow me. "I'll show you instead." Night is coming and I feel it will be a long one.

* * *

A/N: Alright I'm diving into the supernatural portion of the story. Truth be told I made this story with many other sources in the mind mainly of a supernatural genre. I love monster stories but I'm sure it shows if some of my other stories I've written mean anything. Also I started a Familiar of Zero fic so check it out and tell me your thoughts. Thanks for read and please review.


	9. Take A Breath

Chapter 9: Take a Breath

"No, it's that side right there," Mutsu pointed out to the group of individuals we found ourselves in the mix of. So far I've said little to nothing, like normal, as Mutsu did most of the talking to the many crime bosses and lords in the country for the meeting. Some of which happened to be top tier monsters an a few humans maybe worse than them. It's been an eventful couple of months for myself and my sekirei mainly being Mutsu and Karasuba during the night times and Uzume during the day when she's not out working or visiting our little angel, Chiho. Now that I think of it, I still haven't had a moment to pay the hospital bill to keep her in her comfortable room as of yet have I.

I waved for a grunt to walk over. Well, he's not a grunt and actually my left hand man, an enforcer if will, and a orc. The man's name is Vic and he's been pretty loyal since the say I tore out his old boss' spine from both his rear and his neck. That man threatened to rape Uzume and I've done much worse for less.

"Yes boss," the man asked ready and willing to take my orders while Mutsu does the talking during the meeting.

"Take some funds for supply one," I said cryptically. Basically that's my way of saying "Take some money out of my account and play for Chiho's hospital bills so she doesn't get kicked out" but I can't let these men get a leg up on me by telling them I'm caring for a sickly girl. One that's actually just about healed and just needs a couple more months of sessions with me before she'll be fully healthy. Right now she can run one mile without passing out. Before she couldn't even go three feet so that's progress.

"Sure boss." Vic leaned back up and left out the door quietly. A few men watched him leave and looked towards me with mistrust and i couldn't blame them. Not to long ago I was called Mr. Kill Bill because one man thought it was funny to insult me by threatening to kill Chiho if I didn't adhere to his demands. Stupid vampire thought just because he had a man seconds from killing Chiho that I wouldn't stand up from my chair, stomp up across the long table, and behead him in front of everyone. Then I took the phone and told the man over the phone that if he so much as looked at Chiho wrong I'd not only kill him but his family as well. I included his children in the mix. I've killed children before, slaughter them even, because of the mistakes of men that didn't take me seriously. Of course he didn't listen and Vic, who happened to be on standby outside the door, killed him and then his family that same day. He even killed the pet cat. The thing about men in the underworld you need to back up your threats and your talk. If not that makes you look weak and the weak perish while the strong thrive.

Mutsu is not only my voice but also has become my own personal advisor with Vic as my sword. Mutsu didn't like the role but soon he got comfortable in his black suit and sort of expensive looking glasses almost like a generic butler. He's been asked for by a couple women and men alike because of his handsome looks and stiff demeanor. People flock to it for some reason or another. Of course I'm not one to not look the part with good Ol' Shion to assist us with suits and Uzume to help me design different costumes and for the occasional ball here or there.

I sit as the boss of the Northwest, Easteastsouth, and Central North sectors of the city being were the casino's, pier with most of the freight transport takes places, as well as the inn with now is under my jurisdiction. I'm still working on getting my hands on the Central South sector with Chiho's hospital in it. I could take it from its current owner, but I'm not one to cause a war to destroy a city without good reason. Right now we are discussing a deal, because I have to pay a Boss in a demon mask named Ratashi, or something like that, to keep acting in the sector with Chiho in it.

"Hhmm," I heard an audible sigh to my left and drew my eyes towards it. "This is boring."

"Be patient," I said to the woman but she just sighed again still looking beautiful in her spaghetti strap blood red dress that showed her slender back and had a long slip to reveal those delicious legs for me to see. The same I placed my hand on and rubbed gently.

"Ah," she purred and narrowed her grey eyes at me. "I'm not the only one bored huh?"

She would be right. I'm a bit bored and would love to leave right now, tear away that dress, and reap the fruits of my labor but sadly I can't and will not at the moment. I haven't with Uzume yet and I feel if I did with grey eyes here Uzume would know.

"Your hesitation is a turn off," Karasuba brushed my hand off her leg and scoffed. Of course she can feel my intent, being this close to me. Mutsu glanced back to us and rose an eyebrow. "Don't worry about it and mind your own Mutsu." The man let out a grunt and turned back to the meeting as it progressed until I was brought up once more. Mutsu stood to speak for me but one boss, an incubus demon, rose his hand to stop Mutsu in his tracks. Mutsu sat back down and not by his own will. The demon regarded me seriously meaning it's my turn.

I stood up to my feet with my mask fixed around my face. It's a blank Phantom of the Opera mask to cover my eyes and top portion of my face with my Kakashi-esque mask over my lower jaw to conceal my identity from them. I'm simply known as "Hunter, can you speak please," the demon asked to which I responded with a nod. The title of Hunter made a few of the beasts around me shiver and none of the humans. Out of 12 bosses only 3 are human not including myself and they all know who or what they are dealing with. They happen to be the most powerful in the group, even more so than me. I'm new to the game, with only holding a seat for a month, so I can't demand or boast unless I want to excite a conflict.

"Yes, Lord Waldo," I crossed my arms over my chest rudely and waited for the man to continue.

"About the dome," he brought up once more which is a project I've never been a fan but. I can see the appeal. Taking Toyko Dome and turning it into a house of illegal street fights and the like of monsters, humans, and anything that can provide entertainment for the sick sadistic wiles of this world. The money and revenue would be immense but with that Black character acting out behind the scenes I'm not liking where this might go. I've noticed the High Vampire wandering around the Group and I've been tempted to take his head, but I can't get close, not yet.

"What about it?"

"We need your vote, because as you know we can't move the materials without you're freight company and capabilities." That was true. Most of the transportation outside the city coming in was taken by me from the train station to the freight depots. I've halted it for the moment but I can only hold for so long before I'm overruled.

"I fall back on the Sekirei fiasco," I brought up once more to the bosses. My main problem was the fact that they have spies in MBI, I'm guilty of this as well, and they know about these aliens and seek to profit from Minaka's game. While I don't agree I don't necessarily disagree. I just don't wish for them to be used as prizes in this game in the dome they have planned out. I know they might do it anyway, but I rather not see it done. "If you can leave most of them out of this along with an accurate count of the molders involved, I'll agree and allow transport though my lines."

"That's fine," Boss Salazar perked up from my long awaited acceptance of their plan. "I'm assume you might have a few in your positions? Maybe your lovely escort," the Spanish man grinned Karasuba's way.

"Careful," she warned the monster. "This "lovely escort' likes to hurt people." Karasuba spoke in perfect Spanish to the man.

"Kinky," the Spaniard chuckled.

"In the case that sekirei are brought into the game any of mine will be excluded... or I'll kill those involved. Is this agreeable to everyone here?" I received silence which means it is. I sat back down and crossed my leg over my other one like I did my arms.

"What are you going on about?" Karasuba question me.

"These men wish to create something they call the Chaos Arena ran by a monster known as Black."

Karasuba snort from disinterest and went back to her bored position with her elbow on the table and chin on her palm. I was hoping she'd lose interest and it's worked out well for me so far.

Mutsu stood once more and began talking about business enterprise to which Karasuba spoke as well pertaining to the business of different interest targets in the city. I've left most of the monsters in this city alone and control a gang of them. The matrix upon my left arm is our mark. So far I've kept Uzume, Innkeeper, and Homura out of my business the best I could but Uzume isn't a fool. My late nights gone and abrupt disappearances have given way to suspicion. She doesn't know what I do but understands that I keep it from her. It doesn't feel good, close to uncomfortable, to keep this away from her. It's for the best though. I don't want her involved in this.

"That concludes our meeting. Let's hold off til next week, yes?" One of the human bosses spoke and the rest of us nodded.

I climbed up to my feet like the rest of the bosses and we all bowed as was custom. The weakest of us left being a woman with red hair named Oboro I believe and then myself. Mutsu took my left and Karasuba hugged my right arm as we walked out the restaurant of the large hotel. Downstairs there was a limo waiting for us we all stepped into and rested in. It's close to dawn being only an hour from sun up and I've been awake for a good ten days so far without sleep. This has been the norm for me though. I don't need sleep like normal humans but eventually I do need a rest to heal the body and mind. At least four hours ever 250 and I'll be good.

"This has been another long day," Mutsu sighed as he rested his head back on his seat. He removed his glasses and closed them before hanging them on his jacket pocket. Karasuba snort at him but was a bit tired as well from the long hours awake and the festivities before the meeting. She's the one I placed in charge of interrogations. It takes a percise level of control to torture a man to get the information you need and not kill him. She's killed a couple by accident but it happens.

"You both need to rest," I noted before looked out the window to the many cars we past by.

"Indeed," Mutsu agreed with me. "We all can't survive without sleep like you can. You need to show me how you do that."

"Sure, just allow me to put a demon in you rendering you emotionless for a week or face possession, throw you into the shadowlands to embrace the external darkness, and finally inflict the greatest of pain on you until you see hell from your act of suicide. Still sound worth it?" Mutsu grit his teeth and stood his head. "I knew you'd say that," I said dryly as we past by the Clocktower.

Minaka sure is a genius. He's not a bad man to work indirectly for either. His plan to take control of the city and all assets from the light and darkness of the town is interesting. He's handling the political "light" side of the city and I'm working the ever expanding "dark" side of it. It works out.

"Lady Nightingale, this is your stop," our driver said to my raven masked mistress of the night. Masks are calling card for us and the glasses are Mutsu's. They have this unending glare to keep his eyes hidden no matter the amount of light in the room.

"Thank you," she groaned and climbed to the door out. I saw her out as the limo came to a halt. The driver opened the door for her and she stepped out in a soft heel with a soft yawn. "Later," she smirked at me before placing her lips on mine. Her wings flew gently behind her causing our energies to shift. Karasuba moaned softly before leaning up. She winked, pulled my mask back up, and walked away to return to her room.

"Thank you for the hard work beautiful," I called out to her and she looked back with a smile on her lips and a wave before entering the building of her apartment. The drive closed the door and we were on our way back up north to the Inn. Mutsu was already asleep leaving get me with my thoughts. It's been a busy couple of months with little rest. I pulled my face mask down and let out a hard breath. So hard that I could see it build in the crisp cool air of the limo.

That police precinct incident still gets to me. How did I allow that to happen again? Oh, I had an idiot who thought hiring teens was a good idea until one teen got caught and didn't hesitate to squeal. That wasn't a good day and it happened just three days ago if memory serves. I think they are still looking for me and my bandaged up appearance at the time. I forgo clothes and clad myself in bandages of eight different colors. It was a costume for Halloween Uzume made for me and worked ouy well. It was better since I used only my hands and the weapons they had being the pistols, stun guns, and night sticks they owned. It was sort of fun to show the city how useless the police are and accidentally revealed MBI's response force as reliable when they came in to clean up the mess. It's almost as if it was all staged.

I smiled at this thought. This game we play is interesting and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I haven't felt this alive in so long. But even I need some time to rest. Today is one of those days I don't plan to work or anything of the sort. Once I get back to the Inn I'm resting and nothing else. Nothing will stop me from this.

Once we reached the Inn the driver opened the door and I carried Mutsu on my back out and car and bowed to my driver once he did as well. "Until next time Sir."

"Thank you for your patience and hard work." I pulled out a roll of bills and handed the generous tip to the older man. He bowed to me once more before entering his limo and driving off. Such a nice guy.

I walked to the Inn and before I could open the door it slip open for me with a bunny rabbit pajama wearing Uzume behind it with her phone thingy out. She looked it over then up to me. "6:29 on the dote. You're right on time like usual." I blinked at her words and thought on them. Do I truly return at this time to the point that it's become a trend she can track? I should tell my driver to take a new route for now on then.

"Morning Angel." I walked past her into the Inn. I kicked off my dress shoes then faced Uzume. "Can you do me a favor?" I asked her this and she waved for me to continue. "Can you take off Mutsu's shoes?" Uzume blinked. I don't think she was expecting me to request this task of her to complete even though it makes sense. I can't walk in to the inn or put Mutsu to bed if he's still has his shoes on and seeing that I'm the one carrying him I can't really remove them myself. I don't wish to wake him up as well. He's done a lot a hard work with me and has been up for a couple days straight much like myself. He deserves the rest he's getting and to be taken care of.

"He looks out of it," Uzume noted upon as she complied enough to remove his shoes from his feet. It took a good minute to get him to wear normal dress shoes mainly because he preferred sandals. I wondered why until the first time I placed him in shoes for a good couple of hours then understood. The smell made me gag. I had to fix that by adjusting his hygiene a bit but worked out enough to turn him into a noble gentleman. Homura assisted us on top of this when he had the time. He's a good man as well.

"Thank you," I said to Uzume before making my way upstairs to placed Mutsu down into his chosen room to rest.

"No problem, if you tell me where you and bro have been all night and yesterday. And why are you both dressed like that in suits and what not? And what's with that mask?"

"I would..." "Not worry about it' I know and heard it a hundred times. You know I don't like to pry right?" I nodded. "And you know I like to give you your space and the like right?" Once more I nodded as we climbed up the stairs. "But it's been almost three months. I love the fact you take care of me, but it's hard to appreciate it if it's only through clothes and material things."

I would have just waved off what she's trying to day but something brought me pause. Something slipped through the bond to me and brought me to a halt. I looked back and nearly wince when those chocolate brown eyes, sharper than Hate himself, pierced through my eyes. I could see primal desperation and fear in her eyes but for what reason I can only guess. Does the fact I leave her in a blissful state of ignorance harm her to such an extent. Or maybe it's my approach.

"Angel... Uzume, what do you want from me?" I asked her this not in the manner of a man fed up and aggravated from the constant prattle, but I wish to appease her. If I continue to feel this from her I'll be compromised and will be prone to making mistakes whether or not I wish it to happen. Some mistakes I make deliberately to give assassins and fools that wish to challenge me a false vulnerability they can take advantage of only for the trap to spring with them in the middle. This mistake to cause her this much distress wasn't one of them.

"I'd like some time alone with you for one," she jested for a moment before turn back into the serious and solemn side she has. "I don't want you to leave me."

"Leave you?" I questioned and she nodded. This could mean anything much like when Mutsu said "Anytime" to me once which is another similarity between them. Sadly, I know what the both of them mean. They mean every possible mean of these words and not just then most apparent for the situation. "I'll see what I can do. Can you get the door?" I said for I can't make any promises at the moment with the Chaos dome looming over my head. The last thing I want is for Uzume to get involved with that. And I can't open a door at the moment with my burden on my back.

"Sure," she voiced softly and opened the door to Mutsu's room. I entered and began to quickly undress the man quietly with the finesse and speed of a master thief. Then I placed his half naked form into this bed and pulled the covers over him. I hung up his suit on his closet door before exiting back into the hallway. "I've never seen him this tired in a long time."

"It was a long night." I pulled my tie out of its knot and wandered to my room next to get undressed, take a bath, then get ready for the day. I didnt have anything planned for today and left my schedule clear so to make the preparations to give this day to my Angel. It's her day of the week where I let her have attention and what not only to appease her, but I'm beginning to think that maybe she's been acting like she's happy. I should have noticed something but never did I feel anything over the bond. Not even Joy now that I think of it. I need to look into this more closely for now on and be more aware.

I walked though my door and dropped my coat on my bed and my tie. I pulled my mask off and tossed it on the bed as well and did the same when I took my belt off.

I heard Uzume snicker behind me and her arms circle around my waist and her hands fall just shy of my package. "Hey, I'll help ya a little." I shrugged and let her have her way. She unzipped my pants aand reached inside but didn't touch anything but my thigh as she slid them down. I pulled my legs up and out of my pants and she folded them neatly on the bed and walked up to me from the front. She smiled and caressed my cheek before pulling my mask down to see my naked lips. Suddenly she took my lips in a soft kiss and our energies combined. During the kiss her finger slipped from the top of my collar and unbuttoned my dress shirt slowlywhile tracing down the center of my torso to my waist.

Uzume broke the kiss on my lips and frowned at me.

"Something wrong?"

"You smell like perfume and have lipstick on your lips so you tell me." I thought on the many women I've been in contact with, hugged, and Karasuba who kissed me before leaving the limo and the red lipstick she wore. "Are you cheating on me already?" I shook my head and said "No," to my Angel which isn't a lie. Karasuba is another one of my sekirei so it's hard to cheat on beings tied to your soul when you have more than one. "Then where did this come from?"

"I was kissed Uzume. That's the only way that could happen," I simplified to which she just sighed before pushing me away.

"Then you should get clean the only way you know how then before I can kiss you again." Uzume walked to the door but I caught her by the wrist and wrapped my arm around her waist. "Let me go. I can tell you don't want me right now."

"Uzume, there's never a moment I don't want you." She looked back into my eyes and I felt her spine shiver. She knows I've never lied to her. I don't tell her everything but I speak the truth to her anytime we talk. "Give me some time and I'll tell you what I can. Trust me Uzume, I'd never betray you because you belong to me just as much as I belong to you."

"Hm," Uzume looked up in thought. "I don't know, I don't feel that special as of late." She smiled back at me and I followed suit.

"Since I'm dirty do you wish to help clean me Uzume. You can have free reign."

"Careful Otieno I might do something very weird and..." "I'll do the same to you and more Uzume." She snickered a bit and leaned back into my chest. I took in the scent of almonds and something sweet. Maybe it's a new shampoo she's using now. It was nice to the senses and made me wrap myself further into her. "I'll run the water," she whispered and kissed my cheek. I released her and she walked out of my range. "But I do want to know who you let kiss you." She said at the last moment. "Because I know you don't kiss unless you feel close to that person." With that she waved before entering the bathroom.

"Of course," I muttered before tossing my shirt away from me. She knows me well enough.

I placed my clothes on a hanger and placed them on the door of my closet like I did Mutsu's for Homura to gather. He's been enough of a good friend to take them with him on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of every week for dry cleaning. He makes for good conversation as well. I wouldn't mind having him as my sekirei but I know that because of our current alignment we're not compatible as of yet. He's a decent man but I don't need a man of his current mentality. He's on a ridge moments from stepping off, and I don't have time to deal with that.

I took my time to reach the bathroom and walked inside to the large bath. Uzume was inside of course under the shower head washing herself up. I felt my mouth dry out from this amazing sight. No matter how many times I see her she becomes more breathtaking by the day. So much so they I couldn't help but sneak up on her to grab her.

"Don't touch me or I won't forgive ya."

Or maybe not. I closed my hands just when I was about to wrap my arms around her and stepped back. I was sure that I was silent in my approach so she must have sensed me through the bond and my intent. Uzume glanced back with wet hair sticking to her cheeks and back give there an almost wild look as her skin glittered from the many droplets of water that layered it. "Get clean first and we'll see."

I growled at the woman which only fueled that smile of hers and her burning ego. She knows she has control over the situation and knows that I cannot hold back that well. She's in the same boat as me but her collar and leash around my neck she holds is what keeps her rational at the moment. I took a breath and sighed with a nod. Uzume handed me the shower head and rose my hand up until the warm water poured over me. "You can touch me but I can't touch you?" I questioned her as her chest pressed against my back and her hands wandered my chest.

"Yep."

"I see." I'll get mine. I'll play her game but in the end it's always the same with me on top of the situation more than her. I grabbed some soap and cleaned myself off with the unhelpful assistance from Uzume until we found ourselves in the tub to relax. She sat in my lap and leaned back comfortably on my chest. She sighed as the warm water encased her body and so did I.

"So who kissed you?" She questioned me abruptly.

"A dog to some and an angel of death to others. I guess you can say she's a darker character that's taken a bit of a shine to me. She wouldn't admit it openly but it's the truth."

"Okay," Uzume twirled her wrist as if telling me to get to the point.

"Her alias is Lady Nightingale and she's aspecialist if you will that Mutsu and I have to contend with at times."

"Her alias?" Uzume muttered to herself. "Is she one of those creepy masked figures with the equally creepy grin when she hurts people? That's normally the trope with those kinds of girls." Uzume has no idea just how on the money she is right now. That's Karasuba in a nut shell when I "release the hounds" so to speak. It's been quiet with MBI as of late even with the release of sekirei 15 through 25, 35, 64, and 81 in the last couple of months. Apparently, sekirei that are ready and have completed adjustments are sent out to find their ashikabi instead of the numerical order I hoped for.

"Tell me something then," Uzume caught my attention once more when she caressed my cheek. "What does she mean to you?"

I thought on my answer and came up blank. Karasuba and I have a very peculiar relationship. We're not lovers or even "together" by modern standards. When she calls I answer and vice versa. I dare say our relationship can be categorized as professional with a touch of intimacy. We touch each other and kiss without hesitation but we've yet to go anywhere farther than that. Karasuba prefers not to add emotions other than her own possessiveness into the mix, which I don't mind and makes dealing with her all the simpler, but it's placed a block on "us," if that makes any sense. I know it doesn't to me.

"She's looks more for physical attachment then emotion but I never let her go to far. What I do let her get away with appeases her enough not to try to kill me, Mutsu, or you."

Uzume giggled a bit but that laugh faded away when I shook my head with a serious expression on her lips. Karasuba has taken a shine to me enough to learn a couple of my tricks including how to moved from one place to the next unnoticed. Karasuba could possible sneak into this inn and kill Uzume if I'm not careful with her. "Y-You're serious."

"If she wanted to she could possibly kill Mutsu the moment he drops his guard and you as well if you leave the inn unless she gets something from me."

"Who the hell is this chick? Is she insane or that bloodthirsty?" Uzume has no idea. I dare say that Karasuba's desire to kill and maim almost rivals my own and that's not easy to do.

"Just know that Lady Nightingale won't bother you and I'll protect you Angel. Always," I held my light in this world close to my body and basked in the bright warmth of her Tama, willpower projected from her soul.

"It's supposed to be the other way around... but if you think this chick is that dangerous I believe you. You're pretty dangerous yourself ya know?" Uzume leaned into my back and shook her hips left and right earning a grunt from me. "Of course I'm pretty dangerous as well," she flirted shamelessly with an equally sensual smile on her lips. "But, I'd like to meet this chick and judge her for myself if you don't mind." she whispered in my ear. She's trying to cloud my mind with pleasure and her aura to get a confirmation but I'm not that easy, not yet.

"I can, but not at the moment."

"Then soon then... You can touch me now Otieno heheh," Uzume giggled as she gazed up my hands. The same hands that are shivering on the tile of the floor I rested my arms on. For the entire time she's been on my lap I've kept my arms away from her and my hands from her assets like she requested, but if she's giving me permission I might as well indulge.

"Relieved to have permission." I shot my hands from the tile and instantly applied them to her chest. Uzume yelped in surprise then purred when I began to massage her breasts.

"You really like my tits don't you koibito?" Uzume smirked at me.

"Maybe a little."

"You know, I hear that boob lovers are that way because they're closet mama's boys." I snort at her words and continued with my ministrations. I pinched the nipple of her left breast and squeezed the right. "Ah," she let out a sharp breath. "I also heard that they're actually children on the inside that never got the attention they needed as babies."

"If my mother was alive I'd agree with you," I said first. "But she isn't. As for the attention as a child, you could say that I was an orphan under a rich family so I never had the attention a child would have wanted or needed."

"Oh," Uzume quickly bit back her words. "W-Well at least you came from a rich family."

"No, I didn't. I was under a rich family not as their child or even part of the family. I was much lower in caste than that."

"Oh," she realized what I meant by this. "S-sorry."

"It's fine Angel. It's in the past. Its all ashes," and I mean this in the most literal sense. That family and the estate was on flames last I remembered and the land used for farming ten years later after it was all said and done. "And that was a long time ago. I care more about the present and my future now especially with my shining Angel in it."

Uzume said nothing to this but instead stood up from my lap. I released her chest and place my arms on the tile like before. Uzume turned around with a mysterious look in her eyes. Suddenly, she sat down on my lap but facing me and took my lips at hers. Wings of light flew behind her as our energies traded from one end to the other. Uzume held me tightly and rolled her hips against me. I groaned and wrapped my arms around her and held her back as well. Uzume broke the kiss with a smile. "That was a good save." Before I could answer she kissed me again and closed her eyes. Her tongue beckoned me to allow her entry, which I gave her. I felt her hand slid down my back and side and grip my manhood and reached around and did the same. I think... today I'll take her as mine. I think I'm ready just to let go for once and...

"I hope you both don't get too comfortable."

Uzume broke the kiss and her eyes shot to the door. That voice stopped everything as the temperature in the room dropped to well below freezing forcing a shiver up my and Uzume's spine. I slowly turned my head but sadly couldn't get too far because a sword was drawn and resting at my neck moments from cutting it open.

"M-Miya," Uzume cried.

"Innkeeper," I greeted the woman next even though I couldn't see her.

"Morning Uzume, Jaeger-kun. I see you just got back and couldn't hold back your beastly urges."

"With a woman like Uzume it would take a special sort of man not to..."

"Well unlike that man you get no breakfast this morning. Same with you Uzume." Miya sheath her sword and began to walk away taking what I assume are those mask things with her. I couldn't see them but since Uzume clenched onto me like a leech I can imagine she suffered the blunt of it. "And I think you're both clean enough. Please have consideration for others that wish to bathe as well."

"Of course." With that the woman left us alone and I let go my breath I was holding. I'm really too tired for this and really need food and she said no food for me on top of this. I guess the only way to rectify this is to go out and eat.

Whatever.

* * *

 **Scene Change**

* * *

"Hmm hm sureteru. Oh hm ahh ashitamo~"

I wasn't all that sure where I was or where the humming girl leading me was taking me in this large city or what she was humming in the first place. I know it was related to manga or some sort of anime that Uzume has been making me watch but I am not sure which one. I know it get into humming sometimes like when I am hunting or trying to kill someone but that is for the purpose to frighten and/or intimidate my enemy.

"Let's do iit na a naa ha."

I hum certain things like this one theme song from a video game I saw and a rap version of it but not for a walk through the town with a friend. If you can call Uzume and I 'friends' in the first place but I know that is the wrong word of it. She and I are too intimate in each other's own way to each other. Like she calls me emotional love based nicknames sometimes or some other sort of nickname to show the proof of her connection with me, a connection I am still studying from top to bottom, and the same could be said about me as well. I call her 'Angel' still and mostly nothing is going to change that. Well. if I am dragged out of the inn again it just might. I wanted to stay in the inn for the day to mentally prepare myself for the coming business but sadly I didn't notice the listening things that woman installed in the bathroom, again.

I have a very bad feeling about today and this morning only cemented this feeling. Because I had a bad feeling about a day that I'm a little on guard enough to let my eyes scan my surroundings both physically and spiritually. I suppose all I can do now is ride this day all the way to the night and see what happens to me and pray it has nothing to do with me getting into a fight right now. I have been on edge since the police station incident and feel that I'm being followed. I know if I get into a fight, bout, scrap, dance, or whatever people call it now a days I'll be ready.

If I have to deal with that today... I will do the man or men that get in my way the honor of receiving a lesson on manners from me. The old way of teaching someone a lesson in the form of dismemberment of a limb or maybe a finger. I carry a sword for a reason along with my throwing knives. My sword Hate is begging for a gallon of blood to be split over him right now which made that bad feeling grow all the bolder. Regardless, I am ready to cut first and ask questions later faster than a cheetah at full pouncing speed.

Much faster.

I sighed as the woman pulled me along to somewhere but I couldn't guess where making it the fifth indicator of a bad day. The next one was in the form of a woman I knew well enough to never forget her. Even if I suffer from regression again and lose what memories I have she's the one constant. The time I watched her sail into the distance. The feeling of losing myself the further apart we became. Sometimes I still wish I would have died the same day, the same minute, and the same moment she did. Sometimes it hard to carry on with this hole in my chest.

All I can do it keep moving forward like always. I have my mission and a goal that will help numb the pain…Isabela I wish…

I noticed something interesting when I opened my eyes to my surroundings again. Consciousness took me again as I rose up from my inner world. I saw someone I didn't expect to see this soon after so little time. Kazehana of all people was walking around with a pair of sunglasses on and a bored look on her face. She looked lost still much like me on most days. Any another day I wouldn't have minded seeing that woman once again and probably would have asked her out for another drink but on a day like this it wasn't a good omen… I think.

Kazehana saw me and removed her glasses to get a good look at me. She noticed the woman leading me from the front and smiled at the smile she saw on Uzume's lips as she pulled me along. Kazehana nodded and replaced her sunglass to her eyes before continuing on her way to somewhere.

Maybe everywhere.

That passed over nicely but that was probably the calm before the storm of the day. The sight of a familiar woman searching for love in a loveless world such as this. Not exactly a good sign for today leaving me even more on edge. So much so that I was unconsciously tightening the hold I have on Uzume's hand. Something she must have took positively with the way she returned it will glee.

"Otieno-kun."

I heard Uzume call but my mind was elsewhere right now. Uzume looked back to me and frowned at the empty look I had in my eyes but couldn't I be blamed for this. I have to scan every inch of the block we kept crossing into after the next. You never know if something might happen to me or anyone with me on a day like this. I have to be vigilant.

"Otieno-kun." Uzume tried again to nothing glaring at me as we kept moving down the busy street. "Hey! Otieno!"

"AHH!"

My attention came back to the physical world when I felt something impact my chest and looked down to a woman on the ground rubbing her head with a couple books on the ground.

"Ow, did I hit a wall?"

I release Uzume's hand and kneed down and picked the books up. "Close to it." I stood back up and extended my hand to her. "Sorry about that."

"Kukuku," the girl chuckled as she took my hand and got up. "It's no problem it was equally my fault for not paying attention as well."

The woman I ran into is quite beautiful. She is white with long red hair so Irish maybe with pale skin as well, wearing a white chengson with the shoulder cut off and a diamond shaped gap where her chest is showing an ample amount of cleavage from her large breasts. Her hair is long enough to reach down to her waist with side braids falling down he back as well. Most interesting thing I saw was the round glasses she wore that gave her a studious scholar look. Her eyes as well seem to glow with a level of intelligence that goes beyond my own and that is made me interested the most in her. That look she gave me as she looked directly into my eyes was full of curiosity studying me from top to bottom. She didn't bother to hide the fact that she was looking me over and neither did I.

"Are you unhurt?" The woman lifted her glasses and tightened her grip on my hands. Her hands are very soft but her grip is quite strong. She uses her fingers more than the regular humanoid. I can deeply respect a woman with a strong grip but also equally strong bearing. This woman isn't a fool and I have the sudden feeling she knows more about me than I do her. The studious look in her eyes told me as much but that left me with a question. Just how much does this woman know about me?

I rubbed the palm of my hand against her own without shame and studied the energy I found with our direct contact. She allowed me to do this and even smiled at this sort of touch even if it's out of the norm for two people who have just met.

This woman didn't seem to mind and cleared her throat before finally responding with a, "Yes I am." I felt her energy and found it to my liking. Interesting. Slowly I slide my hand away from her own enough that only the tip of our index fingers were touching. Again she remained still with the same slightly goofy smile on her face but that gaze stood fast. Her eyes almost seemed to pierce my own and I'm sure I wasn't the only one that felt this sensation as well. Slowly in response to her previous words I nodded and handed her the books back. All of them stacked in a neat pile with the largest on the bottom and smallest on top. A makeshift pyramid if you will. With her free hand she reached out and placed her hands under the stack.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure." The woman smiled before letting our last bit of contact to break so to place both hands underneath the stake and walked past me.

"C'ya later," she said instead of a formal goodbye almost as if she was sure we'd meet again. She was right though. I could feel it that we will meet again and under strange circumstances as well.

I felt her energy once before but wasn't sure where. I can tell that she is a sekirei and unwinged as well. That is another bad omen on my part or maybe not. I have started to see more and more unwinged sekirei now that I am seeing things as it is. It isn't that hard to tell them apart from the other men and women after all these sekirei may wear more Asian like outfits and what not but they are all multicolored from one race to another. Uzume is North European, maybe Norwegian if I know my indicators, I believe and the one with the glasses before is Gaelic just without the assent. Homura is Scandinavian no doubt about it in my mind. Just one big mix of races in Asian clothing which is sort of strange if you ask me. Another thing is the different weapons I see on them from a staffs to punching gloves to one with a mace the size of a drawer. It looked quite heavy but I suppose these sekirei are stronger than they look.

"Otieno."

"Yes Uzume." I finally answered for last time I didn't I ran into a sekirei on her way to somewhere.

"What are you looking at?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I felt two warm hands cup my cheeks and pull my head downward to face her.

"You haven't looked at me once since I got you to leave the inn." Funny thing about that statement is that we were kicked out. We didn't leave by our own choosing. Well technically I could say we did leave on our own but only because that woman wouldn't feed us and I need food to function.

"I am..." What could I say? By the looked on Uzumes face she doesn't want empty words or silence as her answer but I really don't have a good explanation to give her. In truth I wanted to, I actually tried to, avert my eyes from Uzume's chocolate colored ones but it was hard to do it. More like impossibly hard to do. It was because I didn't want to face away from her and because I wanted to please her with the answer she wanted. This connection with this sekirei here is interesting. Unlike for that insane woman Karasuba who reacted to me before I found myself allowing my barrier down for Uzume and Mutsu without hesitation. They are promoting my sense of calm while Karasuba does the opposite of that.

"Otieno!"

I blinked again and refocused on the beautiful woman rubbing my cheeks right now to keep me focused. How she knows this technique to keep me on task I will never know but it worked well enough to make my body follow. My body right now was still in an awkward angle toward the way I was originally walking instead of facing the way my face does. I turned my body to the left in a more comfortable position and acknowledged her with a nod.

"Finally got your attention huh?" My hand rose to her sides near her rear and trailed up nice curves up to her waist. I pulled Uzume closer to me with her chest know mashed up to mine. "O-Otieno?"

"Sorry Angel, I got a lot on my mind."

Uzume huffed and turned her head away from me. "Now you're sorry huh? Well too bad, I caught you with your pants down."

"What?" I said to her with a poised face. "How did you catch me with my pants down when they have been up the entire time?"

"I…you… Why does my ashikabi have to be such a baka?" Baka? That's the Japanese word for moron I believe? She's calling me a moron or ignorant then. It's a trend I can't fight against I suppose.

Now she was upset and I don't know why. Something about pants I guess but that would pants have to do about not paying attention to her. I was looking at the passing sekirei and their clothing and maybe their pants but their pants and my pants are separate things and pairs as well. My pants for one are made of cotton and linen not silk and elastic like I saw one girl had a second ago. My pants are for men for the most part and held up with a brown belt not a sash and what not. Continuing with clothing I am wearing a red shirt with my dark blue pants that fell to the middle of my rear and a black hoodie that stops at my waist in line with my belt. I have my sister's scarf around my waist like normally as well. We're not wearing anything alike at all but it seems I was still caught with my pants down.

Uzume could sense my confusion, I just know it, but then sighed in defeat. "I'd rather you look at me not those other girls."

It took a moment for that to click in my head.

"Ohh." That's what she meant.

"Ohh." She doesn't like me dividing my attention when it comes to the subject of "other women" it seems.

"Ohhhh." She's angry with me because I'm not giving her, my sekirei that hates to wait, the attention she deserves. She's irritated at the fact that I am looking at other women more than I am looking at her. I'm sure my kissing of other women only made this much worse. Must be what she meant by catching me with my pants down. She caught me cheating so to speak and if woman hate one thing it is for their man to lose interest in them for another, so it makes perfect sense if she is a little annoyed with me at the moment. And me being the master of reading others that I am, I forgot to predict my own foolish actions and how it would affect those near me like the angel in front of me.

"Hey," I pulled her closer to me looking into her very soul making her eyes widen slightly. "Those other woman pale in comparison to you and don't forget it Uzume."

"But you hmm," she tried to say until my lips took hers in a slippery kiss. I pressed down into her navel with my tongue tasting her juices and finding them to be very refreshing for lack of a better word. Not sweet or salty but the taste is "refreshing" and I am not sure why that is. It didn't stop me from orally pleasuring the beautiful woman tied to me. With her moan her wings spread open from her back flying in a golden white display of light. They are amazing just like her and I wanted to prove it to her using as I hugged her tight to me wrestling her tongue against mine. I pulled back with a stream of saliva connect between our lips. I licked it from her lips which her tongue greeted my lips back.

"Mmm," Uzume moaned lightly with a sultry smile on her lips and a glistening look in her eyes. "You're lucky."

I blinked at that comment and turned my head. "Lucky about what."

Uzume giggled and rubbed my cheek. "That you such a good kisser or I wouldn't have forgiven you that easily. You're also good with the sweet talk." I chuckled and released her from my arms and she stepped back. "And your hands." She glanced down then back up. I followed her gaze and noticed that one of my hands was on her breast making small pinches and little circles. My other is still missing. I made the same motions with my other hand causing Uzume hum. It seems my other hand wandered to her rear. "You have more of the case of "the wandering hands" than normal. You touching other women without my permission as well?" She jeered at me.

I didn't know how to answer without giving her the truth and using a question to counter. Uzume is one of the cleverer sekirei I have met. Her way with words can be as damaging as a punch to the gut sometimes. I've seen it in action before and made it my mission not to give her the ample amount of ammunition to fire back at me. Thankfully, even though I practically gave her a machine gun with a drum magazine complete with armor piercing rounds, she has yet fire her rounds at me and kill any mood I don't have until I feel like the lowest piece of garbage in the world. Instead she just grinned at me. Her hands came up and shifted mine to her hips instead of her… areas.

"I'm only kidding."

Thank god for that.

"You still own me a good day of shopping at the mall none that less though." Uzume looked up to the sky in a wondering gaze before looking back down with a smile. "And if you are good today," her lips whispered in my ear, "I will pay you back later with a special surprise of my own." One of her hands rose up and caressed my chin and cheek and the other the back of my neck. She pulled me down until her chest meshed against my own and her lips hovered just a hair from my own. I gulp as she reveled in my reaction. More the one she felt than the one she could see.

"You mean other than seeing you in the outfits you plan to wear today?" I retorted without missing a beat.

Uzume giggled with a slight blush. "That too then." She winked then pushed me back a little roughly. She may have forgiven me but I can feel that she's still a little upset with me for ignoring her. With all the manga I've read you would think I know what to do and what not to do with my love interest, heroine, or whatever it's called. She held out her hand which I took for this was an obvious flag. I had to take and walk together with her and not behind or in front of her. Something she appreciated more than anything.

"Uzume shouldn't we eat something first?"

"Hm, why would we do that?" Her answer came in the form of a loud growling stomach sound that came from her and not me. "Hehehe," she chuckled with the decency to look sheepish. I was hungry as well seeing that because of Uzume and I little, clear of throat, misunderstanding earlier this morning the Innkeeper thought it was in her best interest to kick me and Uzume out of the dining room without food for the morning and afternoon. I eat as much as Mutsu, Uzume, and Homura put together so missing three meals is not going to happen if I can help it. Leaving the inn on one of those day to get my food will be done even if I know that something is going to happen that will cause me to get into a fight of some kind. I know if the worst happens it will while I'm on a full stomach and not an empty one. I am sure Uzume will agree with me as well.

"Well, I am a little hungry," she admitted with slightly flushed cheeks.

"Say no more Angel and allow me, your charge, to lead thou to a place of sustenance." Uzume giggled again and look my hand when I offered it. I kissed the top and leaned back up finishing my overly dramatic offer to take her out for breakfast.

"Well thy charge lead and thou shalt follow," she spoke in a Shakespearean accent that for some reason had me shiver a bit. I feel that I might be having to deal with this sort situation much later in my life for some reason but I doubt it would happen here in Japan. It's Japan after all and that's more of an English thing.

I cleared my throat when I realized I'm still in the midst of role playing and got back into character. Thank the goddess for manga. "As you wish my lady." She and I smiled lightly and continued on down the road to the city of lights and feathers.

"What would you like to eat this morning Uzume?"

"Hmm, surprise me."

I scoffed, "You know I don't know my way around the city."

This time Uzume scoffed. "I guess I also don't know that you and Mutsu go out every night to get a feel for said city." I irked and looked away. She fired a shot and it hit home.

"That is an example of catching you with your pants down just you know." This time I had a sheepish look. "So," Uzume got into my face while we were walking. That is until I pecked her on the cheek with a smile. Uzume blinked in surpise which quickly turned into a pout. "That isn't fair," she fake whined. It was then that I noticed that the street we turned on was a little deserted.

"Then how's this?" I took her lips with my own this time and took the sides of her waist in hand but did nothing to further our more physical connection. Usually with Uzume I love the felling of having her body pressed against my own by the both of use neutrally. This time though I didn't pull her toward me I waited instead letting her take the lead. Uzume must have sensed this for when her pillars of golden white light turned into wings from her back the back of my neck and pulled me down a little making our position a little more comfortable. This kiss was different than the last one. It was more controlled and lax. It was a man and a woman just enjoying each other in the way a man and woman should. Our tongues touched in a slow but pleasurable dance. I am not sure where Uzume learned to kiss but she wasn't half bad at it. I learned from the best one proper kissing and use of tongue techniques that can make woman go weak in the knees and orgasm in seconds if I get serious. There is a time for everything and such moves are not recommended.

Uzume for being raised away from human's and myself being the one and only she will ever kiss isn't half bad. She must have watched and learned from the manga or anime she likes to look at every now and again. Uzume tightened her grip on my neck. She wanted me to deepen the kiss and hug her as well. Karasuba gets off on painfully teasing me and forcing the beast in me growl more and more frustrated. I can't think of being rough and monstrous with an angel like the one in my arms now. This is why I gently wrapped my arms around her waist into my embrace. The wings persisted a little longer than usual but faded in away but our fire didn't. Our kiss lasted a couple more seconds until we pulled way each with a smile.

"Okay," Uzume pecked my lips again, "That was fair koibito."

"I say it will be more than fair if my days go towards that direction if… that's what you want." Uzume blinked a couple times then smiled so brightly. It's a beautiful smile.

"I would like that." I nodded and in unison we let each other go.

Uzume's nice smile turned mischievous as she took my and pulled me face to face. "I still want to know where you both go during your outings though."

"Uh," I gulped. Uzume was literally scaring me with the way she was glaring at me right now.

"Did you think just because you kissed me until I couldn't think and promised me a good time I would forget?" Uzume kissed my cheek with a light blush and the same grin. "It almost worked." I don't like the look she's giving me. It was the "Hand in the cookie jar" sort of look as well making me feel guilty at not telling her about my outings but I had "supervision" though. But I'm sure she asked her brother and he directed her questions to me.

Damn it why couldn't my kiss work and make her forget like I planned?

Uzume pulled me along reading exactly what I was thinking. "What do you both do from dusk till dawn?" Uzume asked again to which I took a breath. At times like this you need to breathe first talk second and right now I needed a second to think on what to say without having her kill me or try to because nothing can kill me most days.

"Well ah," I begin with an "ah" already digging myself deeper into the six feet deep hole. "We just walk and talk mostly."

"That's it?" She said in slight disbelief as if I would lie to her which I never have expect about my name. "So you both go out for 18 hours just talking and walking through the city?"

"Well yes, nothing else happens unless the usual gang or gang member steps up to the plate on the both of us which we handle well enough every other night."

"Wait!" Uzume took me by the arm and turned me to her. "Are you telling me you both go out and get in fights with gangs?"

I shrugged. "Mostly on the south and west sides of town but the big ones have already started to fall in line the moment Mutsu and I got into wiping the floor with them on multiple occurrences. I still can't get used to them calling me boss most of the time but slowly but surely I am making the gangs fall in line under a more respectable banner."

"Are you telling me you that your "walk and talk' though gangs territory somehow grew into them attacking you then you beating down everyone and taking over? Every time you went out as well."

"Yes," I nodded and pulled Uzume along to keep walking. "It was annoying for the first couple nights with all the different gangs that got angry just because we walked in their way, looked at them the wrong way, and some other reasons that we didn't care about. In the end Mutsu and I became known around the underground and before we knew it people began to follow our lead. It's a weird custom they have. I guess when you defeat their boss in a fight to the death you inherit the spoils, I suppose."

Uzume narrowed her eyes at me. "You're not telling me the whole story are you?" This is why I don't like discussing this sort of stuff with Uzume. She's smarter than I am. I'm not the best talker. You don't need to talk to someone to kill them and I'm good at killing people. This is a field in which I am at a disadvantage being why Mutsu and Karasuba do most of the talking.

"The… yakuza might have got involve as well."

Her eyes widened just a bit. "You got it in with the yakuza!" I rose my hands up and looked around. "What did you do to get them involved?" I bit my teeth. Do I tell her the truth or try to divert her attention elsewhere? I know there's no escaping this either way because the topic will come up again.

"I've told you that my profession isn't as clean as you might have thought."

"You told me that it was roughly like extermination. I assumed it was bugs despite your strange case of armament as all times. Swords, knives, daggers, and all you old style weapons tipped me off that you don't though." Again she show me proof of her cleverness.

"I'm an assassin by trade," I decided to say it without hesitation.

"You're an assassin?" She didn't sound shocked at all by this revelation leading me to believe that this is one of the options she came up with for that connects with extermination. "And you did your "thing' here in the city?" I dropped my mask I was tired to trying to hold and let my eyes droop down into a small narrow.

"They placed a hit on myself and anyone around me. I had to take care of them before they had a chance to bring harm to the inn and you. So yes, I found them and I did my "thing' to ensure they couldn't do this. Of course this caused a vacuum in the power struggle for the city and as an opportunist I took advantage of this hole in the system." I rose my hands up and pushed out my index fingers. "I had to show, watch, and wait until the family heads all came around the city into one place and one room before I could make myself and my accomplice known. That accomplice being Mutsu of course. We told them that I wasn't the one to start this, but I would end it along with their lives if they overstep there boundaries. Of course I had to make an example out of one of them for challenging me. He pulled out a gun so I had Mutsu block his bullets with his and my sword together before approaching the man. With these fingers I pinched his jugular on both sides closed until his brain died. From there I took that man's chair and sat down with my bodyguard behind me much like the rest of the heads."

"We talked about territory, where I will go as I please, and what will belong to me. I made it clear if they invade my territory I will personally hunt them down and kill them like I did the four that came before them. Eventually I got into the business end of the organized crime rates and had to manage it. I have many advisers to help me chose people to fill in the blanks and had to root out many spies from the law enforcement as well. It took a while to clean up the broken system that belonged to two of the crime bosses I killed and its still in process. As I'm sure you heard on the television there was a mad man in the police precinct that freed over eight prisoners leaving many of the officers within injured but very much alive." Uzume nodded dumbly. "That was me to get a couple men out of bounds to use for my group. One is one of my best enforcers actually. I still need to fill a lot of spots. Once a week Mutsu, Lady Nightingale, and I are picked up in a large and long black car to attend meetings."

"Like the one you had last night I'm sure?"

I nodded to Uzume at her deduction. "I found that business here is quite interesting including managing the money that goes through the city. It reminds me of the old days sometimes just with more guns and attempts at my life that cause me to find the person that put the hit on me and make them disappear."

"And all of this happened without me noticing? Without you telling me anything?" Uzume just shook her head with a hardy sigh. "I don't know how you managed that or could manage it. It's sound like something out of a manga. I mean you did all of that and talk about death like you're talking about your next meal." she said drastically. She's taking this much better than I thought she would be.

"It's just business. Anything can be bartered and when you place the life of another on the table you must be ready to lose your own in the process if the house takes it. It just so happens that their hands didn't match up to my own and I don't take too idly to threats to my life. When one man threatened to kill you I did what I had to."

"People want to kill me?"

I nodded. "You are my lover as far as the underworld knows. I thought I covered my tracks well but it seems I was recognized one day holding hands with you much like we are now. They threatened you to get to me but before they could get close. I had to make it clear that you're off limits."

Uzume flushed at this with a faint smile. "Well thanks for looking out for me, but why did you get involved with this. Just because they tried to hurt you? You could have walked away."

And let the monsters do whatever they wanted with us humans and the sekirei. I couldn't risk that but it's better if Uzume doesn't know. "I don't back down from a fight or tolerate people trying to steal from me."

"So you killed them instead!"

I shook my head. "Of course not. If I cut something it's the head of the snake not the tail. The top had to go and anyone else that desired to target me until the lesson was learned. So far I've only killed maybe ten people. All scum that raped girls and woman, dealt in drugs for kids, or targeted the people I find precious. You, Mutsu, and everyone in Maison Izumo. So yes, I killed them without remorse or regret." Uzume looked torn between being horrified that I kill in such a way or joyful at my honest confession towards her and everyone else.

"I defend your brother's honor as well."

"How so?"

"They called Mutsu my man whore one day so I had to twist a couple wires to teach them a lesson on manners."

Uzume covered her mouth and looked away. She snort with a shake of her shoulders trying to cover up her laugh and failing well enough. "They called Mutsu a man whore?"

"That and that I was the one that was the Uke or whatever that mean."

Uzume chuckled meaning she knew what it meant. Without having to ask she answered. "Roughly it means you're the bitch in the relationship." I blinked at this until my brain caught up with what she just said. Those damned bitches dare to insult me in such a way? Oh, I will get mine.

"You should have seen the many of the girls lined up just to have a piece of him. Many of them mistresses or escorts brought along had their sights in him."

"Makes sense." Uzume nodded. "Big bro was always the pretty serious type most girls flock too but why did they think you where the…one on the bottom?" She put lightly and for that I was truly thankful.

"I let Mutsu do most of the talking for we conveyed our thoughts and feelings through our bond to communicate amongst each other. He was the one in front and stood directing him as he went. I'm not much of a people person and if I had talked I might made things worse."

"You might have made the right call," she agreed. "But I don't like the face that you left me in the dark about this. How can you kill people just like that? I get you're an "assassin' or whatever but still how can you be so empty about taking people's live?"

I felt a little anxiousness in her tone. I glanced over towards her and she quickly averted her eyes. "It depends." Uzume glanced back at me. "Depends on what?"

"Depends on what you classify as "people' because my opinion on a person is different from yours." That's the truth in a nutshell.

"Well then who are not "people' in your opinion then," Uzume clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. Her question is rhetorical but that won't stop the words from escaping my throat. I have the feeling she heard only half of what I was saying so I have to clarify then.

"Some humans are not people to me." I spoke in a serious tone now. This topic isn't worth taking lightly after all. "Men and women that are evil are not people. At most they are blood packs waiting to be emptied. Men that rape and kill unsuspecting women are not people and so deserve to be cut down like the rabid animals they are. Men and women that touch children in ways that society deems inappropriate with malicious intent are not people. Men and women that waste the lives of others for nothing other than to feed their own selfish games are not people." It all stems from the covenants that I abide by even to this day. Something I believe no one within this city will ever understand.

Uzume has yet to say anything about my answers. She looked out in the distance in thought. She blinked when I squeezed her hand and brought her back into focus. "I guess those types aren't classified as people huh?"

"Not to me. That's why they have certain titles that befit their actions. Murderer, rapist, pedofile, and manipulator."

"But since you have killed doesn't that make you a killer?" She pointed out. "A non-person just like those other people you call evil?"

"Yes," I didn't hesitate to answer.

"So you're a hypocrite?"

"Yes," I answered just as simply as the first time. I'm not afraid to admit the paradox that is my covenant or my thoughts versus my actions. Even though I strike down those I see as evil I'm covered in the very evil I'm sworn to destroy. Showered it in and barring all their hatred and evil upon my shoulders before moving to the next.

"If you kill people but go against what you stand for why do you still do it? Why not stop?"

"Why not stop being a sekirei," I retorted. "Why not stop breathing or thinking?" I sighed. "It's not that easy to stop doing something that feels natural to you and the extermination of vermin happens to be one of mine." I noticed her giving me a look.

"What?"

She hasn't even noticed that she's giving me that look it seems. "You're giving me a look like I disturb you or something. Do you have something to say to me… or tell me?"

Uzume looked down away from me. "I…" She paused to lick her lips. "It's just that someone else said to me once and…" Uzume stopped again to collect her thoughts. "She tried to kill me and my friend."

I smirked faintly at the thought of this. Not the killing Uzume and her friend part but more of the fact that someone tried and used the same words I just used. I can only think of one person that would say what I just said but more in a mocking and full on playful way. That woman happens to be the first Sekirei these eyes have ever seen, the first sekirei I've ever clashed against, and the first sekirei I've winged since my being here. That woman is Karasuba and it seems I have to ask her a couple questions when I go to see her soon.

"You." I rose my voice and waved for a group of shady boys in an alley way to come to me. They looked my way and sneered.

"Ah, Otieno what are you doing?"

"Just watch."

The group of four walked over to Uzume and I checking out the woman beside me until I stepped in front of her.

"What's up punk?"

I pulled my sleeve back to show the branding on my right and tattoo on my left arms. The four stood wide eyed at my response and bowed instantly. "Boss we are sorry for disrespecting you!"

Uzume sweat dropped and walked to my side again.

"Really sorry Boss we-we didn't recognize you."

"You don't have Master Mutsu with you as well."

I rose a hand up before this couple get out of hand. A couple boys bowing down in the middle of the street can cause a couple eyes to turn our way. "It is fine so stand up your making a scene."

"Yes sir." The boy leaned back up and looked at me in amazement. "Wow Boss how did you get a hotty like this?"

I chuckled a bit when he asked me this. "A simple kiss." It's the truth but not the sort they will be thinking of I'm sure.

"Woooow." They awed and gave Uzume another once over. Eyes full of envy.

Uzume punched my arm playfully and huffed. "Your forgetting the saving your life part before that kiss right?" She whispered in my ear. I just hummed in bemusement.

"You four know a good place to eat around here?" The four looked to each other for a moment and whispered something to each other.

"We know a place with steak and lobster." One answered. "It is a couple blocks down to the right next to the park and just past the computer nerd shop."

"Thanks." I reached into my pocket and pulled out four bills which I folded into small footballs. I flipped all four up and they each caught them with wide grins.

"Thanks Boss!" I nodded and waved for them to leave. They returned to the alley they were in out of sight out of mind.

"What was that?" Uzume demanded.

"What?"

"That?" She pointed to the alley then looked back to me. "Those punky kids just bowed to you like you were their master or something."

"Comes with the territory." Uzume looked around the small bit of North Central we traveled in. "This is your territory?"

I shook my head. "The North residential area is mine same with a couple pockets in the south end of the city as well as the warehouse by the river."

"Then why did they…" "Because I'm nicknamed "Boss' because of my status as a seat holder and Mutsu is known as "Master' for reasons I'm sure you can understand."

"Sort of. He is a bit of a control freak so its no surprise people call him master. When I was younger and he took me with him to Brazil he had a habit of taking charge of how people did things. It was annoying but Brazil was cool." I never knew she went to Brazil. I know that Mutsu traveled around much like Kazehana but I didn't know he took Uzume with him.

"In the last month Mutsu and I have been traveling around."

"Like that trip we took to Amsterdam." Uzume brought up. So far whenever the meeting was moved to different countries and the like I took an MBI's private charter to get there with my sekirei as well. Uzume has been on two trips without Karasuba in the mix and Amsterdam was one of them.

"Our hands stretched out quite a ways around the city and out. Most of our trips are business trips. One day to prove that Mutsu wasn't just the muscle the head of the Vitale family challenged me to prove my prowess by fighting one of his men. To be honest the man was a professional fighter taken out of the game because of a scandal and as the new boss they tried to use me to gain prestigue."

"How did you fare?" I felt a Karasuba like grin invade my expression.

"I broke him."

I heard the gulp that Uzume made when I answered her. She took a breath and sighed. "Wow and I thought I knew you as just the dunce trouble maker that can't keep his hands to himself." That is me to a point but only when I'm outside of my field of expertise. "In the time I've known you somehow you became a gang boss and Mutsu your underboss and assassinated people just to keep youself and everyone safe. I had my thoughts you were different but not like this."

"I wished to keep this between Mutsu and I like before. I never wanted you involved with any of this."

"Mutsu again."

Am I catching the hint of a tone here? A tone of jealously I believe. "What wrong Uzume? Are you jealous of Mutsu?" Uzume rolled her eyes and took me by the arm.

"Come on, I want to check that steak and lobster place out."

She's upset. I need to appease her somehow and if she's jealous of Mutsu then I need to include her then. I don't really want her involved with "my business" but if she's going to be this way then I have to do something else the bond might weaken. "If you want Uzume I can take you with me tomorrow night for meeting with the Kinsuyari. I need a beautiful woman to show off and blow the others out of the water and who better could do this and an angel on earth like you."

"That isn't gonna work again," Uzume said quickly but by the flush on her cheeks that isn't true at all.

"Would you like to go out with Mutsu and me tomorrow? I was thinking of asking Homura to come with us as well so you don't have to bother and ask him to spy on me at night when he goes out as well."

"Gurk," the woman grunted. "Hehehe eh," Uzume chuckled in rubbing the back of her head. "Y-you knew?" I nodded. "Wow, I guess you caught me with my pants down this time." A ghost of a smile came to my lips then faded just as fast as it came. "I guess i can, but I don't really have anything to wear."

"Good thing we are going to do this "shopping' thing then and you can pick something out. You always look your best so there isn't much you will have to do." Uzume smiled brightly and hugged my arm closer.

"You know your sweet talk only works for one reason."

"What's that reason?"

"You actually speak your mind truthfully and mean it that's the reason. Making me feel like the hottest girl out there, which I am, but still it's nice to hear it hehehe." The tense in the air was gone and the walk was more peaceful after that. That is until I looked back in a small glance to the corner of this one building.

I've had the feeling that I was being followed for the last eight to ten days every time I went out with Mutsu and even know that I am with Uzume. Normally, I wouldn't even bother with finding out why but on one of "those days" I don't need a tail. I am not an animal all the time.

I could see the outlines of a humanoid with my focused vision which I believe might be sekirei. It might be a sekirei that has been following me, watching me, studying me, and evaluating me for the last week or so I think. I am not entirely sure but she might be and if she is it's for one thing. To plan my death. Why else would this woman keep her distance away from me for so long without coming to confront me?

Only one way to find out.

* * *

A/N: Just noticed that I've been going back and forth a bit with sekirei and with this time skip and coming project who know's what might happen. Used this chapter as a brief overview of what happen and what is to come. Thanks for reading.


	10. Find your Center

Chapter 10: Find your Center

* * *

Uzume and I reached that computer hardware store that the punks from before were talking about in no time at all. Even though I've been in this time for the turn of the season what I found inside these stores still amazes me to this day. Though this wasn't the reason why I decided to enter though. I let Uzume look around for a game she might want from her PlayStation or maybe one for my computer because ever since she discovered something called Visual Novels it's been nonstop for me to sit through with her until the end. Then she somehow discovered Erotic Visual Novels and yet again forced me to sit through the stories of every romance story until the end. Admittedly, though not openly, I enjoyed a couple of the stories, the characters, and the fact that you can choose which heroine to go with. Uzume gets a bit annoyed with me when I keep choosing the more "flat-chest" heroines and judges me over my tastes. Calls me a closet washboard lover that only feels her up to appease her. Sadly, Uzume gets her revenge for we play games from both sides of the spectrum. That means I had to choose men in some to romance over women. I shiver a bit at the memory of one about aliens.

Despite my better judgment I didn't stop Uzume from wandering to the adult section this time around and focused on the single entity that followed me inside. A woman of all things, a sekirei, was following me and trying to appear inconspicuous. She's doing well and looks natural enough but you can't fool my senses no matter the guise. I found the women easily in display computer section on a computer doing something. The wonders of manga, television, video games, and books and what you can learn from them about modern culture and technology including cloths still astounds me. I learned the most about the attire of this place because of manga that revolves around such things. I learned about women's clothing and undergarments as well, which I found to be useful seeing that I'm living with women now.

Speaking of women, almost every single sekirei I have seen released so far are just that, women. I have seen two men so far out of the 36 or so of these women. I have two of the 36 that have an interest in me. This one and another that I can feel that are tracking me. I planned to keep my interests to the single digits or top ten but maybe that won't be all that possible after all. If they react towards me then it's meant to be, right? Though I'm not interested in acquiring more now. Winging sekirei causes attention depending on the sekirei. I don't think this one will make the alarms sound though, but it's best I keep them out of my reach unless I can meet them unseen. This is the case because of Karasuba. If she knows she might kill them. That woman does whatever the hell she wants when she wants. I blame my case of 'wandering hands' on her. She forced me to get used to touching.

Wish there's a way to use the thing called the internet to find information of the top ten and maybe some other useful sekirei that might react to me.

I lurked around the aisles and examined the woman following me. She wouldn't take my life physically so maybe through indirect means. I slowed down and glanced over subtly watching the sekirei as she wandered from one side of the store to the next moving from computer to computer. She's blending in almost perfectly and even talking to the associates there making herself seem ordinary. Purple and silver is all I can make out at this distance, but from what I can see she is fiddling with the computers doing something. Just what is she doing? Maybe Uzume might know something but I don't wish to ruin her good mood with something like this. Maybe Mutsu would know if he was here to help me with this predicament. He needs his rest though.

Oh, how I wish it was the 18th century again during the time of monsters and crusades. Such an easier time to kill in, not that this time isn't easy, but it's just most of the things here happen behind unseen barriers. Either behind a phone or behind a screen. I'm not sure just how many barriers I had to shoot down to worm my way into this town but it still came to be.

My thoughts went back to Uzume. She's a fun person but another sekirei under my charge might make her a little less fun. If I get a new Sekirei today she'll be… unhappy with me. With this morning in mind as well I made her unhappy with the lipstick and the perfume on my body. Maybe we should take some time out of the day after shopping to do the daily visit of Chiho and check up on her to see how she is doing to cheer them both up. The Angel and the Goddess in one room. I really wish I could take Chiho home with me without it being a detriment to her health.

I know Mutsu took a liking to her much like how and did with her soft heart and gently nature. I have many more things to tell her like my story with Mutsu there too listen as well and Uzume if I do anything for the day like today other than sleep, eat, and plan. The tale of an assassin thrown into a world of monsters but with allies to call upon during hard time. So far, I've told her of my first time seeing a monster and my first conflict. I stopped last on the time with the Dark Elf Queen with so much more to tell. Chiho holds my right hand during every story telling with me implanting a little more of me into her. Not the darkness but the very same light she spawns in my body before it goes to the void. If Chiho believes in magic then she could more than likely become a white mage with continued exposure.

"I got a new anime and game," Uzume announce as she walked up from behind me. She held up an older anime. I can tell by the label so more than likely she got it from the value stack. "It's Claymore," she said with a smile. I like that one but we already have the first season so why would she get it again? I glanced down and noticed that it's season two and three of the anime that took fifteen years after the first season's release. "That game as well is really good from what I heard from a…"

I took the game out of her hands and held it up. I've had suspicions that she's been buying games and the like for other people. I feel I know Uzume well enough to have an accurate grasp on her tastes. She buys anime with action or mystery to it with gore or horror at times. She buys visual novels, especially erotica, with mainly in the romance genre with "slice of life" elements on top of this. This isn't it because it has rape by the photo of the blonde woman on the cover in a very uncomfortable position and tentacles in the back. I looked back up to her and she smiled nervously. I relented and handed it to her.

"I'm not watching that Uzume and I know neither are you."

"I know, and you don't know that," she glared at me.

SNAP

"Ow!" Uzume rubbed her head in her corner hugging her knees.

"I'd prefer if you didn't glower at me like that Uzume." I dropped the hand I used to flick her in the forehead with. "And I do know." I walked past her with her game and anime in hand. "Let's go."

"Jerk!"

"Bitch," I said back to her almost on impulse. I didn't mean to but it came out after the "jerk' bit from her.

"I regret ever showing you that show," she grumbled at me.

"I don't. All 15 seasons were pretty interesting. Anyway, let's go and check out Angel."

"Yeah, whatever," she scoffed at me but still took my hand gently in hers. She pouted but still held me close to her with our shoulders brushing against each other's. Her actions don't match her attitude.

We paid for the game and video, and I placed them into my coat pockets out of sight and mind for now.

I noticed the woman from before continuing her pursuit of me once I left and followed a good distance away to avoid detection. I took notice of a couple more powers around her and growing in number. I'm thinking this isn't a coincidence.

"Uzume." The woman hummed up to me. "Come here." I quickly said and tucked us both into the first alley way I could move us into.

"Otieno?"

"Shh." I put a finger to her lips and looked over the corner.

I looked down to the street and noticed that the woman from before was walking toward me and the building, but more precisely the alley we were in. She's looking everywhere other than where Uzume and I reside. I wondered why that was until I saw something coming up slowly next to her. It was an expensive car and she's the target. I narrowed my eyes as the car stopped by her and the window rolled down. The man in the passenger seat started talking to the woman, but I was too far away to hear just what they're talking about. A man got out of the car wearing a navy-blue suit with a red tie and glasses.

Uzume tore my hand from her mouth with cute frown in the form of a pout. "What are you doing?"

"Watch," I said to the woman when I gestured up.

Uzume grumbled but still looked over the corner and saw why I pulled us to the corner. She noticed the same thing I did as I pointed them out. At least two sekirei hiding in wait for a signal in the corner of the street, one was with the man in blue, and one was waiting on the building across the street.

"What's going on?" Uzume looked around on guard now that sekirei are involved.

"We're going up to the top of the building. From there we can watch from above. They don't know that we're here so we may be able to get a preemptive attack on the one above then below. You could get the one on the right side by the stop sign and I could take out the one near the blue Honda parked in front of a furniture shop." I noticed one with green hair and the other with dark skin with and a strange outfit. Something is wrong with these MBI dogs for every Sekirei I see seem to match some sort of Manga genre or persona that I have seen a couple times. It reflects in the way they dress, by the color of their hair, and by the way they dress being a little less modest than need to be. I don't mind but it is just strange that they showcase Sekirei like this. Uzume, Kazehana, and Mutsu are good examples. Does Mutsu really need to show off his chest? Does he enjoy all the time earning stares from many women that we pass all the time? Might have to ask him this later.

"You have this all planned out as a smash and grab," Uzume stated dryly.

"It's quite obvious that this man doesn't want to take no as an answer that's why he has the extra muscle," I leered lightly at the mention of these woman having muscle. The strange thing is that they don't all have muscles to show and yet can jump up to five story buildings without even trying. "To reinforce himself with more than one sekirei which means he knows who she is following and needs the muscle. Or is a total bitch and can't handle his women."

Uzume peeked over and smirked, "I'd go with the latter." I nodded and put an arm around Uzume's waist.

"So, let's do this and help out your sister seconds from being force winged."

The mention of that made Uzume's blood run cold. Just like that her expression reminded me of a happy Karasuba just more emotionless in expression. "I knew today was going to be one of those days." Surprisingly, it wasn't me that said this but instead it was Uzume. She sighed in distress at the day for her that just turned upside down in less than two hours of us leaving the Inn. "I knew it."

"Can you take us up. You sekirei have this ability to extend you're jump, right?"

Uzume nodded as her current clothes changed and her veil fell over her head shadowing her eyes. Thanks to my input she fashioned a white kunoichi mask for herself to hide the remainder of her facial features. "I'm guessing Mutsu carried you this way," she grinned under her mask before she wrapped her arm around my waist. I rolled my eyes as we walked out to the side from the alley.

I am used to Mutsu carrying me up to the top of a building in less than a second but seeing that Mustu is a good couple inches taller than me it was easy for him to do this sort of thing like dive off buildings with me in his arm. While it's awkward for me being the one led up it's efficient. I will admit it was an issue at first. I am a man and being carried by another in such a way is not all that much preferred. With Uzume though I am judging whether I'm finding this a little better or a little worse.

"Hold on Lois," she snickered as her veil fell upon her head and her white strands spread around me. "I'll hold you down."

It might be worse.

"Be quiet or I'll get mine Smallville," I growled at her. She shot up suddenly and I clenched as we flew up to the roof. The moment we reached to other side she jumped to the top of the building with the Sekirei looking down from above. "Thanks," I grumbled when she let go of me.

Uzume nodded and crouched down. "So how are we doing this anyway? I don't want to fight and get the people below involved."

"Follow my lead and stay quiet." I moved first stopped right behind the woman in a cloak. Slowly Uzume snuck her way up to the woman and stopped behind me to my right.

I took a surprised cloaked girl's neck in hand and slammed her down into the roof. I rolled back away from her and a throwing knife aimed at my head from the sekirei. As the Sekirei shot to her feet to face me Uzume with a ribbon of white silk in hand took the unknowing sekirei from behind with a banner to her neck and leaned down much like in the video gamer classic that Uzume showed me from some time in the early two thousands. It's about a hitman with a name that was just a number. It was interesting but unrealistic.

The sekirei reached up with a star of sorts to cut the make shift fiber wire. I ran up to her and slammed my elbow into her body's center forcing her to bring her arms forward to her stomach. I reach up and grasped her wrists with one hand and locked down her ankles with another. The girl struggled but passed out in seconds from the blood choke not the air one, then went limp.

"Drop her without termination. We don't need MBI coming to survey the area." Uzume nodded and simply let go so the girl could fall over onto the roof. "I am going to go back down and climb to the other building. When I jump the first one you come a second later."

"Hai Ashikabi-sama." I was in battle mode, but I'm still surprised to hear that from Uzume. Her normal happy and free self was non-existent right now. I was full of relief at her look of action and knowing I didn't need to worry about her not following my order.

I ran to the end of the roof and jumped down from the wall of the building next to it and repeated until I reached the bottom. I walked up close to the two glasses wearing duo until I could hear what they were talking about in the middle of their conversation. The building they're close to is the same the other sekirei are on but just on another side. I looked up to the fire escape and shot upward to grab it. I pulled myself up and steadily made my way in while focusing my ears on their conversation.

"No, I have no wish to follow you or be winged by you.

The man lifted his glasses with no intent of taking no for an answer. "I work for a very powerful figure in this city and we could use your abilities." The man said with a professional sort of tone.

"You know of my abilities?"

"I have known about you and your ability to control electronics for a while now. I also noticed your tracking of a certain man." The woman blushed lightly at the mention of this man. So, she is following and reacting to me and to satisfy her reaction she decided to stalk me. Hmm, makes sense to me.

"If you join us we can guarantee your safety and anything else you wish to have during as well. Something I doubt that shadow character you have been following can do."

The woman looked away and lifted her glasses to a point that the glare shielded her grey eyes. "Under different circumstances I would have taken the offer Kakizaki Momura and forgo my own reaction but from the data you're not the best choice." The man's straight face turned into a frown. The woman though was not finished. "Your employer is a powerful man in Shin Tokyo with the mind to execute what is needed to increase his power in this Plan, but his methods are suspect and will be his undoing." The woman fixed her glasses ignoring the look of distain the man gave her. "You as well as his second will fall and under my current plans putting myself in a situation so... Conflicting is not the ideal course of action to take." A more prominent frown formed on Kakizaki's face with an apparent gleam in his glasses as he nodded his head down slightly allowing the woman to continue.

"I know who you are and what you do since I can "control' electronics like you said." I heard a snapping sound of a phone closing hanging up on someone. "I know what you are trying to do, and I know that even if I say no you will force my emergence for your own gain." The woman turned away to the direction she was walking before with the most dignified look in her eye and posture I have ever seen. "If you're a real gentleman you will let me go to find my true ashikabi instead of force it. Now if you excuse me." The man grabbed the woman by the wrist before she could walk and shook his head.

I looked over to Uzume and nodded when she was in position just like myself. When she returned it, I took to the air into a dive. Uzume would follow suit as soon as I landed on the woman below. I slammed into her upper back while wrapping my arms around her body. Her body softened the landing onto the concrete as we landed and with the momentum we rolled together. I propped my foot and pushed while letting her go letting her sail away from me. Her back hit a lamppost and bent through it. She was stunned as she dropped to the ground.

I quickly shot up to my feet and rushed at her. The moment of surprise doesn't last long. "Gak," the sekirei gasped as I landed on top of her with my knee planted in the middle of her stomach and one hand hovering over the center of her chest. With the other hand I held her down by her right shoulder. As I landed I shot my right palm straight into the center of her chest between the cleavage, but not to get a feel like most would think. It was to cause her lungs to excrete every ounce of air in them from the Ki infused palm to the chest. I pushed back down a second time to suffocate her the moment her body's reflex to breath came choking her without touching the neck yet.

Her body arched upward with her legs and head coming straight up from the knee to her stomach and with my right hand pulled the fabric on her shoulder until her chest was parallel with my own. Her staff flew away into the window of a shop the moment she rose it up and I bat it away. That was a shocker to some, but what shocked everyone the most was what I did next, not the broken window. I shot my free hand under my other and took the fabric on the other side of her shoulder in hand. With a strong breath I pulled her in crossing the bones of my forearms into her blood highways on both sides of her neck. Already in shock with no air in a panicking brain in seconds her arms came up to my back to push me off.

"Hey you!" The sekirei from across growled with her full attention on me. A mistake she will live to regret as Uzume came from above and landed on top of her instead slamming the woman face first into the concrete cracking it with the force. Uzume chopped the back of her head with little problem and knocked her out. I didn't know she knew that technique. After a couple seconds the struggling of my targets ceased as she followed her sister into the void. I sighed hard and took a breath that I was holding to expand my chest to keep the sekirei in then slacked my hands from her shoulder. I placed her down gently just encase of the possibility if she fell even an inch more it might cause her to become terminated. I checked her sekirei tama with my spirit sight to see it she's still in the game before I took to my feet.

"Take out your phones and your next," I growled to the witnesses that slowly all took their hands from their pockets. I noticed one girl with a phone already out and attempted to hide it but I was too fast and caught it in a swipe. I looked at the screen to a black one with a triangle at the bottom. I glared at the girl and she shrunk down in place as I played it. She started recording way before I started with three of her friends enjoying their Sunday in peace for school was out. I sighed and leaned over to the girl as I watched the 'me' in the video falling from the four-story building on top of the unsuspecting sekirei and everything I did. In the background she zoomed in on Uzume as well and I should admit she did a good job with recording her and I.

"If you keep this don't spread it around in the internet, understand?" I said in a calm and firm tone as if I was chastening a child for putting their hand in the cookie jar, or if I caught them with their hands in their pants. The little girl of maybe 13 nodded furiously a little afraid of me and what I might do if she disobeyed me. I ruffled her pig tails and handed her the phone. My clothing gives away nothing of who I am and what I look like and some time before the jump I must have unconsciously put my mask on because it was over my face right now. I'm safe.

Uzume walked over to me leaving the woman in the middle of the side walk where she laid and past my target leering down on the girl with her blank eyes. Eyes that lost that 'botousai' look and turned calm with a saucy smile. "If you do keep make sure to edit a hood like his over me. Got that assassin look going heh-eh." The girl nodded not as fast as before but still firmly with a small smile.

"Is she dead," I had to ask just to make sure because the answer will judge how fast we would have to settle this situation. "No, just out for the count. You?" I looked back to the stationary body of the staff wielding sekirei and said, "same."

"Ahh," a man ran out from the store with a horrified expression at the staff sticking out of his window. The man was the owner I assume of the pawn shop to the side which now has a red staff sticking out of it. "No, my window!" Uzume edged behind me making herself scarce out of the man's line of sight. I felt sort of betrayed but at the same time I would have probably done the same if it wasn't my fault. "You," the man pointed straight to me, "you did this didn't you," then the man pointed to the downed sekirei, "right after you assaulted that girl." The man dropped to his knees being a little excessive in the whole dramatics thing. He even had one of those anime clouds over his head, but that might be the hazy feeling in my head from the reactions. This close with it worsening before I suffered from an altered though process from the norm and a few hallucinations.

"I can pay you for damages if it means anything," I offered.

"Yeah sure," he dismissed my words. "I bet you're one of those stupid Americans that thinks that money is all that is needed to solve this."

"I haven't gone to America in a long time (being almost one hundred and fifty years) and if money can't fix your window, what can?"

"It's not money that's the problem but installation." The young man climbed back up to his feet with a sigh. "I don't know anyone that could help me. I don't know anyone that knows how to do this today."

"I might," the angel on my shoulder whispered leaning on me so we are back to back. A card of sorts appeared in her hands from somewhere and handed it to me. After reading it I took eight 5000 bills out from my wallet and folded it on the bottom of the card.

"Here." I showed it to the young man which he reached for with droopy eyes.

"What's this?"

"A card and some money for installation and a new window. Just give the number a call." The young man looked the card over and nodded before leaving back into his shop.

"Thanks." I breathed in relief to Uzume.

"No prob." She snickered. Uzume bumped me with her arm. I had to stutter step a couple times showing a brief moment of unbalance in order to catch myself. I turned back with a questioning look but she just winked and walked away. I blinked and just but filed that away as one of those kinds of things that will takes time for me to understand. I quickly caught up to my sekirei as we approached the man Kakizaki together and what was the leaving sekirei.

Kakizaki's frown grew and he adjusted his glasses. "Now if you understand my standing I have to insist you come with me."

The woman pulled her arm back and looked back with a blank stare. "I do, so please don't touch me. Have some tact."

The man cleared his throat and walked up to the woman. "Forgive me, and I have to insist that you come with me. My employer wanted me to acquire you and that is what I will do. I am afraid that you do not have a choice." The man lifted his glasses. "And if you don't I will have to force you with his Sekirei." Kakizaki waved his hand and instead of those two sekirei Uzume and I approached but he was none the wiser. The man had a smug smile and extended his hand. "Now will you please follow me to meet my employer?"

The sekirei looked at me with a growing redden of her cheeks. I nodded at her. A ghost of a smirk or was it a smile appeared on her lips. Something the man thought was for him instead. "Good, now if you please…"

"Leave." I finished for him and walked closer behind of him. Uzume grabbed the Sekirei next to him by the neck and held one of my knives at the woman's neck to keep her from moving. I didn't have time for a hold up so I slammed my palm into the side of the woman's head with enough Ki to rattle a bear's brain, and witnessed the light leave her eyes as unconsciousness took her. The man whirled around and saw Uzume tossing his sekirei away next to his car, myself behind him with my arms crossed, and his reinforcements missing in action.

"Who are you?" I walked around the man looking him over now that I could get a good look at the Japanese man in a suit. Blue suit, expensive and tailored well for a near perfect fit. White shirt and blood red tie as well that is clean of any sort of dirt or residue. The shoes even are shiny without any blemishes or marks on them. This man looks like the sort of well up and cut sort a man that does whatever his boss wants when he wants. Loyalty is what I see in his eyes but that can equally be a good thing and a bad thing. Overall, I am not sure whether to convert or kill this man so I suppose I can leave it at that. I let my examination go finding not much that is special about this man other than he is the field worker version of a paper pusher.

"For now, that doesn't matter," I said and walked up to him face to face finding myself two or so inches taller. "Leave this woman alone and I won't do to you what she," I looked over to a cold eyed Uzume, "and I just did to your protection."

"W-what?" The glasses wearing man stood aghast.

The sekirei with the glasses smiled self-satisfied with how the tables turned with her phone tablet thing in hand. "You see? The before you approached me my real and chosen ashikabi already knew I was following him." The sekirei looked over to me and then back to Kakizaki. "Him and his sekirei took notice of you and your entourage and one by one incapacitated them without termination and so keeping MBI or you from noticing until it was too late."

The man looked shocked and looked around the buildings searching for a hint of his little entourage only to find nothing. "I-Impossible."

"This," the sekirei waved a hand from right to left then clenched her fist and brought it to her breast. "Is why you and your 'employer' aren't the best choice and I will never be winged by one as ignorant as you."

"But she wants a guy as ignorant as you?" Uzume whispered with a hardy snort.

"Not right now Uzume."

Kakizaki frowned with a clench of his phone. With a sigh he conceded. "Very well. I am beaten and I have failed but my employer will know of this."

"I don't care," I said in a monotone with a glower literally looking down on the man with a look of indifference. I wanted to let this man know that I and one sekirei that didn't even use her powers could take him and four alone without problem. I wanted him to know that if you came at me I would do the same to him next time and I am not one for empty intimidation as my reputation as a Bloody Dealer calls for.

With that the man stepped back into the car he was in. He ordered the sekirei that was beginning to stir to get in and she crawled into the care. "I will retreat for now but just know that this isn't over."

"Whatever four-eyes, just go away," Uzume told him off making the man scowl before entering the car fully. The engine started and the driver drove away in a loud vroom.

The sekirei sighed and fell left but caught herself on the window a computer repair shop/store. The sekirei panted softly but still looked up to me with a reprieving sigh.

"Nice work." I pronounced with a smile and a pat of on the shoulder for the veil sekirei.

"Heheh, it was no problem I guess." I rose an eyebrow at the lack of emotion and the bit of guilt I felt.

"You wish it was a frontal attack and not a surprise attack." Uzume wasn't shocked that I figured it out so quickly and bowed her head in a yes.

"It's just," Uzume licked her lips. I fought desperately the urge to kiss them the moment she did that and prevailed. "I am a fighter and that wasn't very fighter like. I felt more like a…" She paused long enough to spare me a glance. "Like an assassin or a night blade from a video game or something and that is something I am not." I suppose I can see where she was coming from. If a man is trained as a frontal lines soldier and then sudden placed on the Calvary he will feel extremely out of place and clunky. That's not the case with Uzume though. She did well considering but it was out of her comfort zone regardless. She more than likely sees it as an underhanded tactic that should be beneath her.

I placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Tell you what, those three are going to hate us for dishonoring them as bad as we did, and when they come back to get it back you can get your fight." That's the easiest way I can see to resolve this issue. What's done is done and even if she doesn't like the actions we took is what I do and how I get things done quick and clean without much blood on the hands.

My words didn't do well to calm her down and instead she sighed, "I guess."

"You shouldn't worry yourself Sekirei number 10: Uzume." The other sekirei finally announced her presence with us and got closer so not to talk too loudly. "You did what you had to make things go by smoothly."

The sekirei on the window leaned off now that she had our attention. I forgot she was there for a second there as well much like Uzume did and proved as much she said, "Oh yeah, your still here."

"Yes," the woman deadpanned. "I'm still here."

Uzume smiled with a cheesy grin on her lips. "Sorry about that heheh."

The glasses wearing sekirei shook her head showing her vanity in Uzume's antics by dignifying her posture. "As I was saying, the way you both handled this may seem dishonorable to some but by taking a subtler approach instead of direct confrontation you not only drastically lowered the civilian casualties by 94% but also collateral damage to the surrounding area. The direction you took was the fastest and most efficient as well as kept the amount of witnesses to a minimum by 84%."

"It's really that much huh?" The sekirei nodded her head. Uzume hummed and looked up to sekirei with a thoughtful sort of look in her eyes.

"Ahhh," the woman groaned in a sensual manner as she fell back but stopped a foot from the pavement. The woman looked up and saw that I had her hand around my own stopping her from facing the ground head on.

"Careful." I warned as I pulled the woman back up to her feet. "You don't want to fall, it will hurt."

"Noted." The woman panted with her hand lightly squeezing my own.

"Wow, Otieno you sure do work fast." I couldn't tell is Uzume was being sarcastic or doing the teasing thing she like to. Though from what I felt form her it was anything but joy at the thought of me taking a woman, another sekirei, right now. I thought on maybe holding off or rejecting this sekirei, but I let that thought go as she came forward from behind me into view to inspect the woman. Uzume's eyes wandered her body like I have before right as the sekirei composed herself from her near death and embarrassing experience.

I suppose I can start at the top and work my way down.

The woman's hair is grey in color reminding me a little of Karasuba only cut considerably short enough not to fall pass the fabric in the back sort of like Homura's hair. The woman forehead is covered by a couple bangs that stick out slightly before falling past her eyebrows. The center of her fore head was free of any bang because they extended outward to the left and right sides but it wasn't free so to speak of everything. There is black dote in the center of her forehead the in true reminded me of how Indian woman had that dote on their heads. Her grey eyes with black sclera slid from me to Uzume whose darker chocolate colored eyes met at the same time with red framed half-moon glasses over them. The silver wire from her glasses fell as far as her chin before leading pass her shoulders to the back of her neck coming together I am sure. The only portion of her hair that's longer than the rest are the strands that fall in front of her ears framing her face all the way to the bottom of her neck cut in an angle to go along with her shoulders.

A calm expression was on her face and by the air I see around her she is cares much of her work and calculations. A strict sort of demeanor that is has a list of goals in a precise order that she plans to go her way and her way only. Like a strategist, I would assume, she's planning and observing everything and anything around her trying to figure them out.

Now down to her clothing first thing I noticed is the trend most sekirei do in the way of the clothes being tight on her body and all to expose her curvature. It looked like a light purple dress robe top with frills like a high collar around her neck that has the slit in the front that follows down to a darker purple corset holding it closed an. There're frills coming off the top of the corset that has a black leather belt tightened in the center of her body, with the buckle in a perfect line with the vertical center of her body.

The lightest purple part of her clothing I think starts at the frills below her big breasts down into a dress bottom with side slits starting at her thighs then falling to her feet. Every shift of her body shown the pale and curvy legs the woman has on her and the light purple sandals she wore with a black strap. The arms now are bare at the shoulders down to the middle of her upper arms where a sleeve falls to the palms of her hands. A strip of the same color starting from the elbow of the sleeve and end at her wrists falls short of her ankles.

When it comes to skin color she's more on the pale side unlike Uzume but not as much that Karasuba. Over all she reminds me of a librarian or maybe a devoted scholar with her focused gaze. It's like they're trying to figure me out. I looked down to her breasts and noticed that she forgoes a bra like Uzume does a lot but from the white lace I saw down below underwear really is a must especially with her clothing.

Her breasts are smaller than Uzume's, and if I am eyeing this right I would say around 90 cm. Her waist like many I have seen is shinny sitting at 57cm. Her waist is definitely 85cm. When it came to height she's sort of average of 5 foot 5 inches. Overall, she's beautiful woman and Russian I think. She's built with tense but strong shoulders and balanced position of attention she stood in.

"Are you finished," she asked me as if she knew exactly what I was doing.

"Are you?" I asked back to no reaction.

"No, Not really. But I find it hard to read you while you shield yourself like you do." She gestured to my hood though I was a little hesitant to remove it just out of know where. I considered her eyes that shown nothing but a hint of eagerness.

"I usually don't remove the hood in public I hope you can understand."

The sekirei showed a hint of restraint and patience with a soft, "Very well."

"Though if you wish to look into my eyes I can do this." I pulled my hood back enough to make the outside world seem brighter. I pulled the mask over my face down as well and showed the woman my face from my eyes down. The sekirei gazed into my eyes then left them to examine my facial features. The woman lifted her glasses until they glared again but with the glare also came a slight flush of her cheeks.

"African American, sharp dark brown eyes, short black hair, scar of his cheek and left side of his forehead, well defined and healthy face, an expression that I can't read all that well, and maybe 23 or 24 in age." She listed off as her hand hovered over my face. "You have a sense of calm and understanding in not only the way you look at me but the way you speak. Your eyes are cold and dark like you have seen horrors no regular person could dream of yet still push forward. Your stance is ready which means you are prepared for an attack showing combat training and a sense of situational awareness. PTSD in the way you can't seem to calm down. You watch and plan then act accordingly but at times even you slip up and do something drastic against yourself and others around you." I hummed giving her the indicator that she is right so far in her deductions.

"You're fiercely loyal to yourself and others as well and," she noted as her eyes came back into view. Her hand came up to her chest and she started to pant. Her grey eyes glazed over as her eyes fell to my body. A frown formed on her face right before her eyes shot to my face again. "I suppose I have to research the rest at a later time… ashikabi-sama."

The woman then suddenly started to breathe harder and harder and the blush in her face increased in color and size like she just opened the dam and the plains flooded over in a matter of seconds. Her hand clenched her chest tightly almost ripping the fabric. The smell in nose now as well, the honey like scent that made me shiver slightly at the deliciousness of it, and caused a reaction of my own in my body.

This woman is reacting to me that much was clear, but I really didn't plan to wing a sekirei today. I knew today was one of those days, but I never imagined I would have a sekirei that has been spying on me for the last week to come today of all days. I also got into a scrap with an ashikabi and his sekirei as well today which is bad luck for me for I might have put myself on in the spotlight. Then again from what I heard this woman can manipulate and snake her way into the electronics of this world. A very useful ability if I do say so myself seeing that everyone has a phone on them somewhere.

I looked back to Uzume for some input to this but she just stood there with her arms crossed. Something she doesn't do lightly like Mutsu and I do all the time. She was angry, I could feel it, and I couldn't begin to understand what she might be thinking. I have never been in her shoes or in the shoes of someone with a like situation like this.

The woman stepped closer to me staring at my lips with eyes that belong on a demon of desire. Her glossy eyes seemed to be noticed by a few others in the busy sidewalk.

"Damn," I cursed at the feeling of being watched. "Come on." I gave my hand to Uzume and the other sekirei wanting them to take it.

Uzume just stared at my palm for the longest time before sighing. "Whatever." She took it and instead of waiting for the other sekirei I took her hand in my own and pulled the two away from the street to the tight alleyways to the right and turned to the left at the first one. It was free of most pedestrians which was good and made it easier on myself and the girls with me.

"This feeling is abnormal," she said to mostly herself instead to me. "My heart is racing." The woman looked down to my hand after she said that. She tightened her grip and brought it up to her right breast. I am no stranger to the wiles of woman and how they act when they are aroused but this woman's level of arousal is astounding to me. It seems like the only thing keeping her from jumping me is her will to appear as an outstanding lady. My hand pressed against her chest and my mouth almost went dry. Even after so long this sort of contact brings the fragility out of me. Her heart is racing right now even now. It was like she was having a heart attack. No, I think it is going faster than that even. This sort of speed will kill a normal human easy yet this woman is able to take it. Maybe being a Sekirei means that, that sort of human limit isn't theirs.

"I feel like there is a fire in my very soul. In the pit of my being. Can you feel it?" My hand fell from her chest to her navel where her womb is, if sekirei have one that is. It was like putting my hand on a hot stove but the feeling wasn't unpleasant. The feeling itself made me feel warm at the touch and slightly happy if that makes sense.

I nodded my head, "yes." I answered deeply.

"I want you so much." Her confession might as well have been a slap to the face because my cheeks felt like it. My own blush probably reached to my ears just for saying that to me. Most woman I have met no matter the circumstances have never said that to me like this.

Well, except one.

"Huuhaaa." We heard a loud sigh to the side over to Uzume. She smiled lightly and pushed me closer to the sekirei. "Go on," she said in conceit. "Do your thing Otieno."

"What? Are you sure Uzume?"

"I can tell that she is feeling the same I did when I met you. Right now, she's dying on the inside and no one deserves that if it can be helped." she seized hold of my back making me grunt at the sting. "Hurry up so we can eat."

"Uzume I…" She put a finger on my lips and gave me a reassuring smile.

"It is as she says Ashikabi-sama." The woman tightened her hold on my hand. "It hurts. The amount in which I want you feels as pleasurable as it is painful." This woman meant every word and I could feel it. "Do you see it?" The woman took my other hand. I didn't offer any resistance when she pulled my hands up to cup her cheeks that felt hot as well. My fingers came up to the top of her glasses and pulled them down to her naked grey eyes. I looked into them falling into a vortex of emotions. I felt my own eyes widen as the woman pressed her chest to my own and her glazed over eyes turned my own like hers. "Do you understand reactions now?" I blinked as the woman's hands fell leaving my own to cup her cheeks on my own accord. I see now. She saw my confusion in the reaction process and decided to school me in it.

I said, "Yes I think so."

"Good," she sighed and took the initiative to wrap her arms around my back. "My ashikabi will not be ignorant of something like this or anything else like it. Ahhh." The woman moaned and her legs finally gave out. I quickly caught her though with my arms around her waist. "It seems that losing control of your legs can be added to the list as well," she noted.

"Indeed." The reaction grew worse in the form of electronic devices around us started to short. Being near a department store didn't help either because the televisions, cell phones, computers, hell everything started acting up around us. "Your power is to control electronics," I noted as I witnessed her power as it grew unstable. "Your reaction is causing your powers to go haywire." I looked around and watched as even the carts around are starting to short out. Making a mostly electronic travel device does that I suppose. I looked down to the woman and she looked back to me. "Well shall we?" I asked.

"Y-yes!" She rose her voice at me. If she wasn't already flushed I would think she would be blushing right now. The woman cleared her throat and said, "I am Kochō, number 22." She declared she took my lips as her own.

My free arm fell from her cheeks and wrapped around her waist. Her own hands came up to my shoulders and squeezed me closer to her own body. Like Karasuba, Uzume, and Mutsu every sort of energy was drained in a cycle of give and take and in a large amount. This is in comparison of the other wingings I have seen with my senses. One's where only a small amount was taken instead of what I'm feeling. I think it was done to make those pillars of light that shot out of their back where that symbol on her back is. Pillars that split into wings of a light purple much like the clothing she wears.

The kiss was chaste for the most part. Not vicious and full of ferocious lust much like the one I experienced from Karasuba. The kiss wasn't deep and slippery yet with controlled effort like Uzume's. The kisses I share with Mutsu was just that with nothing to add but still I can compare and this one seemly sort of more distant than the one with him. I couldn't understand why I felt that way but at the same time I found my mind going blank with the new presence in the back of my mind taking form. Like the ethereal chain that bound Kochō and I together is finally taking shape and tying the two of us together almost perfectly.

The light Kochō's wings faded but for some reason it became near impossible to stop for the moment. I could tell by my actions that I could control as my left hand fell down to her rump for an experimental squeeze over the dress bottoms she wore. It was nice and soft to touch and a little plump. She must sit down a lot and not in the customary Japanese way either for she has a bit too much back there for that to be true. My other hand came up to her thigh and pulled her leg up. Kochō's hands fell to my shoulders down and slipped into my coat to my chest. Kochō moaned in my mouth with a mixture of kisses and fondling that probably would have escalated until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"That's enough." I looked back to Uzume who looked away with a small redden of her cheeks. "You both can suck face later, okay?" I nodded and let my hand drop. Kochō groaned and opened her eyes. She looked the same way I did and peered her eyes. She let go of my ass and took her hand out of my coat from under my shirt and put her glasses on.

"Indeed." She looked back to me with red cheeks and awkwardly we separated. "We should leave." She put simply as if what just happened never happened.

I nodded pulled my hood back down to shadow my eyes. "Yeah let's go."

* * *

One hour later

* * *

"Kochō." My newest sekirei looked over to me evenly to give me her full attention. During the walk to the restaurant, one that we have yet to make it to, I have felt a gnawing at the back of my head. No matter where I leaned or how I shifted about I could feel the needles on the back of my neck from the visual intent that was implemented on me. I'm still being watched, I have been for a while now, and she was there watching me, but not watching me at the same time. It makes no sense, I suppose. To say that you are being watched but at the same time not being watched, but I know the woman following behind me was doing it. I am not sure how for every time I peeked back I noticed that she was looking down on either my phone that she asked for not too long again, or some high-tech thingy in which she would move four fingers along the surface of the screen. I am not sure what she is doing but I know it has something to do with her abilities.

The gist of her power is the ability to manipulate anything electronic, thus hacking into it and allowing her to gather information, but I am not sure just how she does or how far that power can go. Even if she controls something like a camera or a computer in what manner does she utilize this talent? Can she see anything a camera does? Can she change the settings of a computer without looking at it? Just what sort of sekirei is this woman?

I asked her the first two and the answer she gave me surprised me. Apparently, she's been putting those street cameras to good use by monitoring something around me and throughout the city, but I am not sure what. I know she was watching me, but I'm not sure in which direction. That is the bad thing about my senses. I know that she is looking at when it pertains to me. My senses tell me the direction of the person delivering the visual intent and the directions it's coming from. It's fine to know where your prey is but it's disadvantageous when you don't know what they're studying. She could be looking at my face and wouldn't know it.

I thought on this and berated myself on having such unusable thoughts without action. Instead of wondering all these thing by myself I could just ask her. That will make things simpler. I looked back to the woman but Kochō didn't even look up from her thingy as she tapped on the screen at least a hundred taps a minute. It is a miracle that thing hasn't snapped in two by now. She has my phone in her hands as well. She's be using it for something, I think to monitor the activity on my phone that I've been really lacking on using lately. I faintly use it because it was provided to me by Minaka. He asked for me one day and provided me a phone for "posts" and "updates" and the like but I didn't understand that well. I think he sends me things but I never bothered to check. I suppose I can just leave that to Kochō since she's expressing and unexpressive interest in it.

"I am a brain Sekirei," she answered finally done with whatever she was doing and placed the tablet things under her arm at her side. I haven't really asked her anything but I feel she said this because I would only make sense I would be curious of her moniker since I asked her on a few of her actions. "The Insight Sekirei, I think that's a suitable title for me."

"Ah, I see." That makes some sense. Mutsu is an earth based being the Quake sekirei, Uzume is a veil sekirei, Karasuba is the Black sekirei; I guess brain or Insight sekirei are out there too with the priceless ability to control electronic devices. And how did she know what I am thinking?

"Because you are talking out loud," Uzume answered with the faintest of smirks on his face. I could respond in kind but instead priority dictates.

"What do you mean by a brain Sekirei?" Before Kochō started I put a hand up. Talking about this sort of thing while walking is getting sort of tiring after a time. Now that I think of it I spend most of my time talking while walking or running which is strange of me. In the past I never held conversations while walking before so why did I start now? Was it a sense of urgency or something?

I pointed out a restaurant I have never been to before called some weird name that means tadpole in the grass. "We should eat. I know you both are hungry, myself included."

"No ashikabi-sama I am…" The gnawing sound of a stomach resounded in the ears of Uzume and I. Uzume leaned close into the woman's face looking dead into her eyes making a satisfying "hmm" sound and cheeky grin to match as a mild blush formed on Kochō's cheeks but that was the only change to her outward appearance.

"Try that again Kochō and be more honest this time," I said with my arms crossed.

The woman sighed with a stiff nod. "I am famished Ashikabi-sama. I haven't eaten in two days," she admitted and drew my confusion out. "The reason being because my card became inactive and I have no other ways to gather funds at the moment." My thoughts went towards her taking money electronically because I remember it working for one hacker in one of Uzume's visual novels. "And because of my reactions I've been having trouble with my work."

She answered all my questions without me having to ask and impressed me. Why her card stopped working I could assume only one man that's been watching me would do this on a whim, so I left that alone. For now I said, "Then let's eat then, I am starving as well… but not there." I took a breath and didn't like the scent coming off that place. Sweat and sorrow is a bad sign. Uzume didn't ask why and opted to take me by the arm instead and drag me along. Kochō fixed her glasses first then followed with her thingy out again.

We traveled for a minute maybe around thirty, but I am not sure but I am sure of this; Uzume was about to throw a fit.

"Ah!" She threw the fit. "Where is this place?" She roared to the sky.

"Calm down Number 10 we'll get there," Kochō instructed in a careful tone with a fitting attitude to fit it. It's like she knew the right way to tell the brunette to calm down, because almost instantly she sighed out the steam that was building up in her and said "Sorry," Uzume breathed out before letting her tense shoulders go loose. Might have to fix the thousands of knots I can see sometime today. Maybe tonight.

Thank the spirits for the time I spent in the Beyond and the other side for the energy I have. I just need some essence of life and soul from either an animal, humans included and preferred, or a demon (least preferred out of everything) either in the form of sweat, tears, or mostly preferred blood to keep going. The energy I took from Kochō helped but I love the taste of virgin blood from humans. The Sekirei around are so delicious to taste. A person's life is either in their fluids like saliva or blood with is the most connected to the soul.

Karasuba is the most animalistic of the ones I have tasted and I wonder what some of the others taste like. I also wander what some of the other sekirei around me that will soon be chained or already are will taste like. Like a vampire I need some sort of substance that connects to the soul but not the soul directly. Sucking a person's soul out of their body can have effects on the one that does it and not all of them are positive. Like my knowledge of this place. Not positive and by the looks of things those punks from before, "screwed us over," as Uzume just said.

"I swear those punks played us."

Kochō poked and prodded her surface thing a couple more times and stopped suddenly. "This place these... "Punks' told you about, is it in this general direction?"

"Yeah, but I don't see it," Uzume said with an annoyed tone at the situation we found ourselves on. It was true that we have been walking for quite a while without any sign of the place or even the scent of the meat either in the front. I could smell it to the side though at my left into the park but it wasn't the way we were told. If they decided to lie or even make a simple mistake in simple directions I am going to find those sons of whores and take that 3000 back with interest.

Kochō poked the screen of what appears to be a tablet with her thumb and index finger then spread them out. I'm still wondering where she is keeping that thing anyway. Her clothing is quite tight. It's not revealing much except showing a few curves and the large chest she couldn't hide. There're not many places she could hide that thing on her body so maybe she has a hidden pocket somewhere on her clothes, but I couldn't see anything in the front so maybe it is in the back where I haven't seen yet. She has always been face me; that's something I just noticed as well. She's been keeping me in her line of sight the entire time. I wonder if she is doing this on purpose. If so, I can assume since I've just become her ashikabi after a few days of studying me she probably knows my personality inside and out by now. She more than likely planned for a long time studying every ashikabi she came across even if she was reacting to me beforehand.

She fought off her reaction to find the ashikabi that would suit her the best and most likely give her the assets she needed to apply her full commitment to this game of ours. If that's the case she might be more valuable to this game than I could assume. A rational and sound mind that doesn't let her emotions come between her and the task at hand. Someone like that, always analyzing and examining a target while collecting the found information for a later time, is useful. We're in the Digital Era I think I heard Uzume call it once. If she did follow other ashikabi like that glasses wearing man then she might have info on key figures in this game.

I could use her to get me some info on the loose ends. I could use some edge on the Hiroshi family. They're starting to get on my nerves. Damn old men. They live the high life directing from the top of their tower buildings. Meeting one or two isn't as bad as some think. Many are smart and know potential when they see it like in me. Most of them want me and The Group, my people, on the payroll, but I'm not one to let certain old men tell me what to do, especially if I don't respect them.

Information is key and having an Insight Sekirei will help me in my future endeavors against my enemies. I wonder now if there are anymore sekirei like Kochō or Uzume or even Mutsu. Are they the only ones with their own specific powers or are there many others like them, but abilities tweak in different degrees than them? Like a sekirei that uses cloth as her weapons to mold it into a sword with the same cloth coming out of the hilt that can cut like any other sword. Different variations of the same power used in alike ways through way of a medium.

"Where is this place?"

I blinked coming back from my long line of thoughts and looked back. Uzume let my hand go and took to Kochō's side some time during my trek. I didn't notice her let me go until it was too late which is shocking enough to make my eye twitch. Usually I am sensitive when it comes to touch. Even when you open a door or a window I can practically feel the sound waves bouncing off my body little by little. It's a large reason why I wear long sleeves and a hood, because it gets annoying after a time whenever my sense of touch becomes that sensitive. It happens at the most random of times but still happens.

I could see right now that Uzume was talking to Kochō about something with the screen thing in Kochō's hands as the topic of conversation. I stopped before they did and turned to them waiting for an explanation or an update.

"Ashikabi-sama," Kochō looked up a little but kept her eyes on the screen. She finally looked up and pointed to my right to the park then she looked up to me. Her eyes included. "A restaurant that is renowned for steak and its meat buns is in that direction in the opposite side of the park."

"Really," I mused in a near growl but stayed calm for the most part. It was easy just had to think happy thoughts like how I planned to hunt down and possible accidentally kill every single one of them right before ripping out balls to make them a meat ball sandwich. Maybe I could also go long term and slowly make them suffer with crap jobs and barely any money out of it and if they turn to drugs I will make them drown in it, because if there is one thing I will not have on my watch its drugs. White collar is cleaner and efficient.

I rubbed my thumb to my index finger that little tick I acquired from an old friend of mine. "Lead the way Kochō." The Insight Sekirei nodded and made her way into the park. Uzume and I followed her into the park. It was a nice park I suppose. It was quieter than the surrounding city but smelled of debauchery and blood at off places for some odd reason. Odder than that was the smell I could pick up was freshly spilled and getting stronger the deeper in we went. I wondered on how this smell could develop like this unless someone was bleeding out somewhere up ahead not that is any of my business. I am sure the man was stabbed, maybe for money, and left to die alone. Such is life and I shouldn't get myself involved if I don't have to. You can't save everyone and only a fool tries for he will fail in the end.

Kochō stopped at a fork in the path. One leading to a fountain and the other leading to more forest. The smell of blood drew me right to the forest and the smell of food that could only make my stomach roar led me to the left with the fountain in sight. A blank shade of grey formed in the woman's eyes. For the first time I saw her with that panel finger touch thing in hand her hands have stopped moving like they were before. Instead they spread open from each other with her thumb going the opposite way of her middle finger.

"Hm," she murmured to herself. I don't know what was going through her head or even what she was seeing but it must be important for someone with her demeanor to just stop and focus on the screen like this. If she stared at it any longer like that I would be surprised if it didn't burst into flame. I had my suspicions was related to the blood I smell in the air, it had to be, but what could be ahead that is making her hesitate like this? I continued to think on this for a moment until she cleared her throat to get my attention masterfully enough to succeed.

"Ashikabi-sama," Kochō began while still appearing to be contemplating the right way to say what she has to tell me. Her tone was grave despite the lack of one she had for the moment. Kochō bit her bottom lip then relaxed it. She had made up her mind about whatever she is thinking of. "After our meal are you and Number 10 going clothes shopping after this?" If there was any tension building in the back of Uzume's mind it faded away like a bad hangover. It showed on the sigh of relief we heard from her and by the sly smile that grew on her lips.

"Oh," Uzume mused sliding over to her... Sister?

I'm not sure if they are sisters at all like the bond that she has with Mutsu who turned out to be her older sibling, no real surprise there. They're nearing complete opposites when it comes to personality which happened with siblings, have many of the same facial features blood related siblings would have, if they share like parents or one like parent at least. Only difference I can are Mutsu's eyes being a shade of grey not just brown, the ears with Uzume's being lower and slightly bigger, the plush of Uzume's cheeks, and some other differences I noticed as well but many others are there as well. The shape of their eyes and noses are the same.

Uzume and Kochō have almost no relation with each other physically as far as I can see so the word 'sister' when directed to Kochō will not be as deep was 'bro' when directed to Mutsu. I can tell that Kochō was slightly uncomfortable with the sudden touching via an arm over her shoulder. I didn't see what was wrong with it not that seeing the two women's breast collide and bounce back in a hypnotic way. Now that they are close together I can compare with ease not that I should. It is unfair to compare one woman with another but I couldn't help myself right now. Kochō's chest isn't as big as Uzume's and doesn't sag much like Uzume's but instead are quite full, almost perfectly at the edge of a sag. Not to say Uzume sags but with breasts her size it only makes sense really. They both though have beautiful breasts regardless of what I or anyone else may think. Something I would feel terrible about thinking so soon in our relationship if the ashikabi and sekirei thing we have can constitute as a relationship.

Not friends but not lovers.

We are not even enemies. It has always been one of those three at least but not this time for any of my sekirei. Karasuba being the biggest bitch in the world teasing me six ways from Sunday every time I saw her, Mutsu is more of my comrade than anything else or adviser in case of emergency, Uzume has been a constant form of entertainment in her teasing of others and her more intimate way to entice me every now and again, and Kochō, that remains to be seen.

Uzume looked over Kochō with some sort of stare that even made me a little ill at ease. "I bet you would look amazing in one of those Chinese dresses and maybe a business suit as well with a short skirt."

"W-what?" the woman gasped just a bit flustered.

"I could also get you a swim suit as well. Hmm," Uzume hummed while eyeing Kochō's chest and nodded. "A one piece or maybe a blue striped bikini will do. Bring out the real boing if you catch my meaning."

"Uhmm," Kochō cleared her throat and the blush that threatened to come to her face. "I don't wish to get any clothing."

"Hm," Uzume frowned. "Why not?"

"New clothing is not a necessity," Kochō said dully and I nodded in agreeance with her. New clothes are a waste of money but when Uzume wants something and forces me to buy clothes as well I can't really say no.

Uzume sighed with a shake of her head. "God, you are just like him in that regard." I took that as a compliment. Uzume didn't like this deter her though. She smiled because she knows how to rein me in and if Kochō is like me then she already has an idea on how to tackle this. "But so what? I bet Otieno-kun would love to see you in a business suit or swimsuit," Uzume smiled turning this on me, "Right?"

I tilted my head a little at the expectant look I received from Uzume and the lack of a look I got from Kochō. I don't like the fact that Uzume is using me to get her way, but I did think on it. Kochō would look nice in certain outfits or uniforms like a woman from an office space and blue when it comes to bikini.

I nodded slightly. "I think you would look amazing Kochō." The woman looked down to her thingy again not really reacting to my admission not that I expected more from someone like her.

"See," Uzume pointed out, "we're out and about so we might as well get you something nice after we eat."

"Very well," Kochō sighed and pointed to one direction in the fork leading deeper into the woods and the smell of blood. "That way then Ashikabi-sama." Kochō went back to her panel. "By the way ashikabi-sama, how often do you check your messages?"

"If you have my phone you know the answer to that question. But why do you ask?"

Kochō glanced up to me in her eyes I saw a bit of approval from my quip. She does in fact know my rate of checking my messages and it's stagnant. "It's because you should acquire a certain "gift" from a certain someone about four days ago." Now I'm curious. Minaka sent me a gift and I was supposed to receive it a couple days ago. I wasn't in the country at the time because I was in Korea but still this is new to me. I should investigate it, but if I know Kochō she's already taking care of it.

"What matter of gift is this?" Uzume asked openly but Kochō didn't seem to hear her for a moment.

"Don't worry about it," Kochō dismissed my Angel and Uzume pouted a bit. Kochō didn't seem to notice and went back to her tablet thing.

"Kochō what is that thing you have in your hands?" Kochō blinked a couple times taking a moment to come up with a good answer which I appreciate. I can't keep on calling that thing a "thingy" after all and I am tired of basking in ignorance when I don't have to.

"This is the newest in cutting edge technology of a Surface Tablet that MBI has yet to release to the public and if my calculations are correct it will be another eight years before they do."

"Wow," Uzume whistled, "that long huh. Why eight years to release that thing to regular people and why do you have it anyway if that's true?"

"Because," Kochō lifted her glasses causing them to glare in the faint light from her Surface Tablet. With that she pointed to the direction she wanted us to go again and walked on.

"Wait," Uzume walked up to the sekirei, "You didn't even answer." Kochō didn't respond to Uzume and instead took to looking at her Tablet. Uzume huffed and left it alone as did I. I could guess just how she got her hands on that thing and don't really care on how or why.

"Leave it be," I said placing a relaxed hand on Uzume's shoulder. "If she doesn't wish to talk it is best not of force her."

"For now," Uzume added on top to which I had to agree. "Why do you think she asked if we were going shopping after this?"

I looked out to the pathway ahead smelling the answer in the distance. "We will soon find out."

"Huh?" Kochō snort in amusement at my words and Uzume's confusion. "What do you mean? Now the both of you are not making sense."

"All in good time Number 10."

Uzume pouted. "Like, can you stop with the whole 'Number 10' thing? I have like, a name and want you to use it."

"Like, we'll see," Kochō mused in an almost pungent tone.

I have a feeling these two are either going to be the best of friends or worst of enemies with the lightning I am seeing right now between them.

Before I could enjoy the coming verbal lashing between the two sekirei I spot something unusually usual in the distance. I had my suspicions on just what was up ahead that smelled of blood and tundra pine wood somehow and it came in the form of a woman up ahead sitting on the side of the path on the ledge of the right side. I saw a white lab coat with a red stain here or there that looked like blood, a white buttoned up shirt underneath that but that looked to be the extent of the clothing I saw. Kochō stopped when she noticed the woman on the side as well then looked back at me.

"I see why you asked me that question now," I sounded with faint curiosity. Is that the "gift" Minaka wanted me to take care of days ago? "Who is that, sekirei?"

"One that is "damaged goods and thrown out but perfect for a heartless individual like yourself,' or by what I just read," she answered ironically with my phone in hand. I shook my head at the fact that Minaka still calls me heartless. I have a heart… it's just hollow.

"May I make a suggestion?" She asked me instead of flat out telling me her input. She's really striving for my favor it seems. I gave her permission to speak instantly. "You should talk to her."

"What," Uzume came between the two of us. "No, I don't think that is a good idea. For all we know she might be hostile."

"Nothing Ashikabi-sama cannot handle." Kochō looked back to me and nodded.

"I don't like this," Uzume voiced again.

"Noted, but in order for the plan to work we need to have that "gift" on our side and the failure to recruit it will prove to be consequential later in the game." Meaning that if I fail to convince her to come with me I have to terminate her. I'm beginning to see why this sekirei reacted to me in the first place. I like her a bit more now.

"What plan?"

"The one I created and just finalized for Ashikabi-sama," Kochō looked back to me. "I recommend you talk to her at least for a moment."

"Otieno-kun?" Uzume looked at me asking "are you really going to do this?"

I looked between the two then back to the woman in the distance at least 100 or so feet out. "We can't ignore her I know that. Especially if she is hurt," I spoke like a fool hero and spat to the side once I finished. "But in all seriousness, it won't hurt to speak to her and if she attacks I'll handle it."

"Why, she isn't your sekirei?"

"If that is true then why did you talk me when I wasn't your ashikabi at the time?" I retorted back to her making her bite her teeth. I don't know why Uzume was so adamant against me talking to this sekirei, but I'm curious and had to satiate it.

"I... but..." Uzume drew a blank then stepped down. "Fine." I didn't like how she said that, again. Last thing I wanted was Uzume to be angry at me, but I didn't care all that much right now.

"I will go for a moment. Just follow close behind me but not too close. We don't want to show ourselves as aggressors to anyone around."

"Hai Ashikabi-sama/Otieno-kun." They both announced.

I nodded and started on the walk to the "gift" that Minaka threw away for me to pick up.

* * *

First thing I noticed about the woman was that like her sisters she's beautiful in her own way. Her hair is a greyish-blue with light brownish hair falling over her forehead and a little over her eyes. The sekirei has 'that look' in her eyes. Like when a woman was raped and later found out she ended up with child. Like a woman that ended up suffering one of the greatest travesties in the world and has yet to overcome the shock. Like a woman that just found out she lost her life and provider in war and was told on a rainy day. This one looked broken on the inside, something I hate to see, but the question is why. What could have happened to this woman that placed her in such a state of shock?

I checked my watch and frowned at the time I saw. Two fifty-two in the afternoon and have yet to get any breakfast like that damned woman cursed us with, but I will be damned if I don't get lunch. I inspected the woman a little more and noticed those empty eyes on me looking directly into my own. Somewhere down the line I let my hood down to check out the scenery better and now I felt it would have been better if I had kept it up.

The woman looked at me for a moment more before she looked down to the ground again taking that quiet, dead, and still position from before. The nod down lifted her bangs though and gave me a good look at the thing on her forehead I didn't notice before. A sekirei mark like the one on Uzume's back and like my other sekirei, but it is on her forehead instead of her back. Does that mean she was winged by unconventional mean? This is the only way I can see this happening. If it's by the way of a kiss then her wings would have sprout but instead the mark is on her forehead. Does she have someone that tried before and it failed or was it something else?

Then there's the blood and clothing she has on as well. Her legs are bare from the waist down or where the shirt stops meaning that her modesty is non-existent right now. Whose blood is on that coat as well? Her adjuster maybe or a man that tried to take advantage of her or is it hers. I doubt a man that knows what this woman is would try to abuse her without running the risk of getting folded like a suitcase and if it is hers I wonder just who it was that did this. Sekirei have some tough skin, which I learned that hard way from the more 'hands on' sort of way than anything else.

I don't see a weapon around or gloves like on pinky so maybe she is an elemental. I can feel her energies and just how unstable they are. Her energy is much larger and less controlled than Mutsu's or even Karasuba's. It reminds me of Homura's with the vast size and girth behind it, but it just doesn't burst at the seams like with him.

The woman looked back up to me when I just kneed down in front of her without saying a word and regarded me like she does the ground almost as if I am not here but noticeable. I cleared my throat first before I started talking. I don't want stutter or anything else that might put me off as weak. "Afternoon." It is customary to start with a greeting so that is just what I did. The woman just stared at me with blank eyes that flowed slowly to Kochō then Uzume. Uzume hide half of herself behind Kochō for some reason when the sekirei did that.

"Who... are you?" The woman finally said though in a slow and methodical way. Is would have been sort of soothing if it wasn't so blank much like her stoic expression.

"You may call me Otieno. Otieno Jäger," I answered briefly and to the point.

"What... do you... want? I have nothing I could give you." Her tone may have been empty but the emotion I felt in it was as depressing as finding out you're the last of your clan or family. She truly believes she has nothing to give. Nothing worth taking. This sort of prey… I would leave to spoil and fade into the beyond like I did that man so long ago.

This isn't that time and I'm a man not a boy.

"Maybe to ask a question?" The woman just stared at me; waiting for me to ask my question. "Are you stable?" The wording caused the remaining light in her eyes to waver. It was an honest question as well but maybe too abrupt. Her vision dropped from me back down to the ground.

"I am… not." I rubbed my chin and hummed.

"Do you have a home? An ashikabi?"

"I," the woman paused then her head lowered down even more then before if that is possible, "have no... Home. No one that would want me." The woman moved her hand up at a slow but gradual pace and stopped at her forehead. Right over the mark on it moving bangs of hair out of the way. "Because... I am broken."

I could practically taste the large aura of depression that threatened to consume the three of us. I felt a change inside myself coming from another source. The only external sources of emotion stand behind me but I can properly decipher what was transferring into me. I glanced back and noticed Uzume's fear from before had turned into sympathy and pity for her sister sekirei and the mark that was on her brow. Kochō fixed her glasses before turning a full 90 degrees to the right to ignore the feeling that surrounded us. I placed this emotion in a file for later. If this is what sympathy feels like then I'll remember this to get a good read on my sekirei later.

I turned my attention back to the sekirei below me when I heard her me an intake of air. It seems to be a trend to breathe in for an extended amount of time when she wishes to speak. Another note for a file I made mentally for this woman.

"I am a failure," she paused again to drop her hand. I have the feeling that she can't multitask and must do one thing before the other. "Of a sekirei," she finished. The haze grew so dense I could probably cut it with a knife.

Before the woman could look down again I cupped her chin and pulled her back up to look me in the eye. The contact surprised the woman but she made no move to bat my hand away. "Do not bow your head," I said with a serious frown at the constant weakness I felt from this woman who is supposed to be one of the strongest beings I have ever seen in the city. The woman blinked for the first time which I took as an indicator that I got through to her at last and let my hand fall back to my knee. "Good," I nodded in approval when she remained in the same position. "How are you a failure of a Sekirei? How are you broken?"

The grey in the sekirei's eyes darkened. "Because... I cannot be winged."

That answered so many of my questions that sadly ended up replaced by many more again. "Why can't you not be winged... have you tried?" The woman shook her head in a 'no' maybe for both questions. "Because you cannot be winged you think you are a broken sekirei no one would want?" The woman blinked again but did not look away like I am sure she wanted to.

"Yes," she whispered loud enough for me to hear.

"What would you do if I told you that I," I pointed to myself, "wanted you?"

The sadness in the root of the woman's eyes faded away replaced by surprise on the plus side a little light came back to her eyes. Mistrust, shock, and a twinge of hope were in those eyes. "Why," she asked using only one word to speak paragraphs. "I cannot be winged and you," she stopped her gaze at the two sekirei behind me, "already have sekirei. Why would you want a... broken tool like me?"

I cupped the woman's chin again and pulled her eyes back up to me and let my hand fall back again. "Don't bow your head. You are a sekirei, one of the most powerful beings on this planet. Even if you believe yourself broken don't bother for there isn't a declaration anymore untrue than that. Your kind are powerful and you are a prime example of this. Do not bow your head," I said sternly.

I find the way she reveled in self-pity to be pointless and I refuse to accept it. The strong stand strong not crawl on the ground like worms. "Never bow your head before another for that shows that you have given up on yourself. Do not allow the words told to you by anyone to take control of your life." I pointed to the woman's chest at her heart and stared straight into her eyes. "This is your life and in life we all have choices so tell me do you wish to stay here and wallow in self-pity or move placing one foot in front of the other?"

These words came somewhere I never thought possible. These words come from personal experience in this field that even now hurts. I heal from all wounds and live to fight another day but the one wound that never closes makes life feel meaningless. I failed Them and deserve to stop existing. I learned better than this though. I was forced to keep moving on because death by a wound that you can't see brings disgrace to you and the bloodline. To let this consume me would be an insult to the ancestors and those I have walked side by side with in my life. I felt that this woman could see this within me. Like Bethany always told me "you wear your heart on your sleeves," and because of this it's not too difficult to read my thoughts once eye contact is made.

The woman was silent for at least a good five minutes before she gave any indication that she was listening or even alive for that matter. It wasn't about what she did when I took to my feet but what she didn't do. She didn't bow your head but instead followed me with her eyes blinking in a robotic sort of rhythm. Once every ten seconds exactly.

"But," she tried to say before I shook my head.

"I wish to sit next to you." Almost instantly the woman changed position in her sitting instead of having her left leg up at her chest and opt to have both hanging of the ledge until her naked feet touched the stone path. I looked to the side and found there to be a lot of room for me to sit and did just that. "What is your name?" I demanded more than asked from the woman.

"Akitsu," she answered without any pause or hesitation.

"Akitsu," I said to swallow the name and found it to my liking. "That's a fine name for you, it fits." I looked over to the woman when she said nothing and waited for her to react for lack of a better word. Her reaction time seems more... lengthy than most normal people but maybe that has something to do with her power.

A persons physical and mental ability weigh heavily on how a person acts and how others see them. Maybe the time she needs to process is one of them or maybe that mark is involved which I must admit is sort of cool to see on her forehead. Almost like a brand of sacrifice for she was too beautiful and destined to be sacrificed to a god somewhere on the Greek side like the goddess of the hearth. I saw them literally throw virgins in the fire for the "goddess" that is until I killed her and took her soul into my body as well in my left arm. I already have a demon god in my right arm so the last thing I needed was their exact opposite to occupy the same place in existence and render my body unusable.

I reached up for a moment and hovered my hand over her mark but stopped when I noticed her peering at me. I have the decency to appear sheepish and pulled away. I'm used to being able to freely touch sekirei that I forgot my manners. "Excuse me." The woman just looked at me then away. We didn't dwell on this so I continued with my friendly interrogation. "Why can you not be winged?" I asked quickly to dispel the awkwardness of the situation.

"I... winged myself," she worded faintly.

I rose and eyebrow at this but it's possible I suppose. I can practical taste the potential sealed with this woman's body. The power that lies behind that mark is…greater than any other sekirei's I have seen thus far just below the innkeeper. Her power greatly mirrors my own when I stop holding back the demons in the sea of my soul. This Akitsu woman may have instinctively sealed away her own power because to protect herself and those around her. She may have had her powers seal during the adjustments as well to contain it and thus keep it untainted by human hands. If the adjustments they tried to implement on her caused this then I can only imagine what that dam on her forehead is struggling to hold back. If I can feel it behind the barrier I can only imagine if what deducing is true. I can only grill for more information at this point.

"Who told you this?"

"The bastards... that did this to me." So, it wasn't her fault or she believes it wasn't her fault. Regardless of who can take the blame in the end she potential is sealed. It could be that MBI sealed her powers or that Akitsu sealed her own power away to protect it. If a being born to be powerful despises that power they try to limit the power. She may have unconsciously protected it. It's possible. Or maybe the men and women in that clock tower screwed her over then forced her body tama to emerge prematurely, if that is even possible. I'm not sure of this is the case because I've never heard of a case of a sekirei acquiring wings without an ashikabi. I've been led to believe from multiple sources that only an ashikabi can wing a sekirei. No if's, and's, or but's about it. This only further cements the deduction that she sealed her own abilities.

Uzume, Mutsu, and Takami all told me that the only way a sekirei could be winged is if an ashikabi and sekirei traded DNA to make each other more compatible so how can a winging process happen without the trade of DNA or an ashikabi? The answer is that it can't. One fatal flaw in the miracle that is science is that the body synergy can morph and shift at any time. The energies of the body are lost on men and woman of science and trying to examine the body of a being comprised of energy like a sekirei is above them.

But not me.

"Do you believe them?"

"I," the woman paused again to breathe, "do not know?" That through off even more alarms. Slow reaction time, branded forehead, and now faulty memory. If this mark isn't a curse brand I don't know what is. If so I wonder how this could have happen to her if she did this to herself. How can I remove it if this is the case? The only way to remove it is to overload it which is very dangerous or have the one that placed it on her to remove it manually. I may be wrong seeing that this is a sekirei and not a human for a curse doesn't work well on other species if done by another species. If succubus tried to curse me at best I might just cut their wings off out of principle. I don't like curses, I have been cursed before, I'm currently cursed, and don't wish to go through any more.

Back to the brand though. If she branded herself with something like this then she's especially powerful.

"Does your brand hurt?" Akitsu shook her head.

"Do you mind," I reached up with a naked hand to her mark and stopped an inch from contact.

"You want to... touch this ugly thing?"

"Anything on you is not ugly Akitsu and to tell the truth it gives you an exotic look. I really like how it looks on you even if you don't." Akitsu blinked then nodded once for the go ahead. I place my hand on cool icy skin and almost pulled back with how much it burned. Not a hot burn but more like when you put your hand on a block of ice or a glacier in the North Atlantic. Gods she is cold in mind, body, and expression. How is that even possible!? I breathed and pushed a little of my Od into the mark. This is a dam and holding something back. It needs energy. Energy is the key. The small bits of od I'm placing against this dam doesn't create even a dent in it. I need to research this

"I want to give you a choice Akitsu." I let my hand fall and took to my feet again. I took her silence as a go ahead. "I want you," I said bluntly causing her eyes to widen at my admission. I thought on my words for a moment the realized what I just said and quickly corrected myself. "I want you to come with me but I will not force you to. You can come with me, wait here for someone to take you, leave and search for your ashikabi who all sekirei are supposedly destined to find, or take the easy way out and wait until you expire."

"Whoa Otieno you don't..." Uzume tried to say.

"Leave it," Kochō said taking Uzume's shoulder in hand, "he is right. In life we all have choices."

"But you told him to..."

"I suggested," Kochō corrected with a small adjust of her glasses. "I didn't suggest he'd take her number ten just to talk to her." Kochō released her sister sekirei from her soft grip and glanced back towards Akitsu. "There's a difference and if this sekirei doesn't wish to find out how appealing our Ashikabi-sama is that is her choice. A poor one, but a choice none the less that she made and can be satisfied with."

I fought the urge to glare at the glasses wearing woman behind me. I see what she is doing. Forcing Akitsu to see the 'light' and come with us. She has a choice my eye. I rolled my eyes and looked back to the woman then to the right down the path we came from. I could feel something and someone approaching. I know the feeling of a sekirei anywhere and I felt two of them with a single human heading in this direction. I can safely assume it's for the only sekirei here and I will not allow this. I can let this…goddess find herself in the hands of mortals that wouldn't understand her.

Ignoring the fact that I'm being hypocritical because I'm quite mortal myself and turned my gaze back to Akitsu. "Make your choice Akitsu for time is running out." The woman looked at me the entire time then nodded. She reached out and I took her hand in my own. "Thank you," I sighed and pulled the woman up.

The moment she got to her feet though her legs gave out and why not after all she has been sitting in a very uncomfortable position possibly cutting off blood flow to her legs thus making them like rubber. I quickly caught her at her waist and back hugging her to me and mushing her breasts to my chest. It was then I realized just how big the twins are between the size of Uzume and Kochō meaning they are big. Akitsu out of reflex took my shoulders in hand to keep herself up right. Her face inches from mine.

"Ah,"

I paused and bit my lip nervously, "Are you okay?"

A faint redness formed on Akitsu's alabaster skin that shined like diamonds in the sunlight. I almost can't wait to see it in the moon light.

"Yes." She said in a tone very much different than that of the one she had previously.

"Good," I said gratefully with a light smile at the sudden shift of disposition she took. One that she noticed and seemed to take a shine to. I normally don't smile sincerely but every time I see a man or woman on the brink take the beginning steps to the light it makes my soul feel lighter than before. It shows with all the approval I hold for her choice to come with me. One I swear she will never regret and one I won't waste.

"Good." I looked away for my eyes kept falling from the beautiful face in front of me down. An action that had Akitsu tilt her head a little.

"Is something... wrong?" I shook my head.

"No," I stopped to turn my words into action instead. I whirled around and let the woman fall onto my back while I took her thighs in hand wishing I didn't. Her skin was so soft and smooth... Damn it and my weakness to gorgeous woman. My light soul right now is causing the emotions for the bond with my two sekirei to become potent and cause a little pain in my head. I felt a small measure of jealously from the two of them and surprisingly the bulk is come from Kochō.

I could see it at the edge of my sight the smirk Uzume had but said nothing for it was her way to get her way over me like that damn Kunoichi Kuu. I pulled us both up with Akitsu resting on my back. Her arms hung over my shoulders for a moment before wrapping around my neck and her head resting on my shoulder.

"Are you comfy?"

The woman shifted a little and said, "Yes."

I sighed and started to walk away with my current sekirei following close behind.

"Are we still going to eat?" Uzume asked as we turned the corner.

The real answer came in the form of a series of stomach growls and it wasn't just coming from me. I looked back and noticed Kochō hiding her embarrassment behind her tablet. Uzume averted her gaze and coughed in her own attempt to drown her own special full faced blush. I couldn't see Akitsu's expression but I could feel her stomach quake angrily on my back. It was as loud and furious as my own so I can only imagine how long she's gone without food.

"Because," Uzume continued despite the flush on her cheeks. "I don't think a place will let a half-naked woman in it."

"Tssk," I clicked my tongue. Uzume is quite right. In modern day society the blatant revealing of the body is looked down upon unlike in the old days like on the islands of… It's doesn't matter.

I shrugged. "I can talk them into letting Akitsu in and if they don't cooperate then I will have to up the ante."

"You mean threaten him?"

"I don't make threats," I simply said.

"Mmhm." She hit my shoulder and I grunted from the sekirei enforced slam that made my arm hurt. I looked at her for an explanation but she just glared at me. "No more… ya got that?" She threated me in a whisper like death in my ear.

I nodded quickly. I have an angel of death already. I don't need a second.

* * *

A/N: Main Character's Nest of Sekirei: Karasuba(winged), Mutsu(winged), Uzume(winged), Haihane (winged by Natsuo), Kochō (winged), Akitsu (Broken),?

God, I was reluctant to add anymore sekirei to the roster but someone made a comment about Kochō and I saw the potential in it. Akitsu as well... I want to play with it and see where it goes. I might have made a pretty interesting story with the three I've written in now but I got a bit curious of where I can take it now. I plan to add a few more but stop there. I don't want too many but every portion of the heart needs to be filled by a sekirei that can connect with the MC. Once filled only then can we find Harmony without our body and soul.


	11. Open Your Mind

**Chapter 11: Open Your Mind**

* * *

We finally reached the restaurant that was green on the inside with yellow lights over the booths.

"Couldn't we have gone somewhere less envious?" Uzume humorously asked.

"Indeed." Kochō agreed.

I shrugged. "Never judge a book by its cover, and they let us in without difficulty so it can't be that bad. You remember what happened last time we left that one restaurant that was all orange just because you didn't like the color? You lead us around for 5 hours until we ended up at a sushi restaurant with terribly prepared food and got drunk forcing me to carry you home," I reminded her and will never let her forget it.

Uzume grunted and crossed his arms. "Well sorry~ I don't like orange."

"You're talking about when you went into that restaurant owned by the Yakuza," Kochō stated like it was yesterday's news.

I drew my attention towards my new addition to the nest and asked, "How do you even know about that?"

Kochō tilted her head as if saying "you're truly ignorant if you're asking me that" before looking back down to her tablet. One she placed under her arm before getting ready for her response. "I don't control electronics like you believe. I access them." Kochō grabbed the hem of her top and pulled it out and reached within for something. A phone the size of her hand appeared out from the hem of her top with a pen thing on the side attached by a string. How she concealed that thing so well and without any form of sweat or moisture on it is beyond me.

Kochō pressed a button on the top of the phone and it cut on after a tune played. "As long as I have a way to the net like with my tablet or my phone." I watched as her hands zoomed from one edge of the tablet screen to the other. "Personal Information. Name: Katsuha Namura, Age: 27, Profession: Police Detective, Single, no children, no romantic interests, and the list goes on." The woman in front of me did something else and placed the phone down on the table to my right.

"I understand." I heard over coming from the speaker. It was the voice of a woman that I recognized from somewhere. I may have heard it once or twice.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" A man spoke this time.

"Yeah, the suspect just walked into the restaurant," the woman responded.

"Do you have a confirmation of his identity?"

"No, but the outfit is the same and I can see that he's unarmed as well. The patch on his shoulder is ike the one left behind in the cell. He has company on top of this. Three females. I will link over their appearances in a second."

I touched the tablet on the red triangle and sighed. "I knew that police precinct incident was going to fall back on me." And if this detective recognized my patch on my shoulder that means they know the mark of the old boss. I've used it for my newer members and worn this to make me appear as a grunt. I didn't think one of the idiots in the cells would draw this out. I'm going to have to change the symbol soon then.

"We should leave then," Uzume pulled my sleeve with urgency.

"Or dispose of her." I heard on the edge of hearing from the woman still currently on my back. I can agree with this. I'll would only take me a moment and this place has an incinerator in the back. I saw it on the way inside. I'm sure a couple bills will keep the owner silent as well.

"I could make her bankrupt or release some scandalous material to the net to make her lay off as they say. All I need is your command Ashikabi-sama." I nodded at Kochō instead. That's much cleaner. I thought I'd have to take care of this personally, call Lady Nightingale to "release the hounds," or call Vic to "clean up" this mess that I'm in. I have a monster and a sekirei of death to take care of barriers but maybe Kochō can save time and resources.

"Get her and anyone else out of the picture. I can give you full clearance into the system that currently I have Mutsu on, since you're clearly more qualified."

This seemed to brighten up her day and fast. "That will help. I can only set root so far into your 'business' and associates without proper access, but I can do this." I watched slightly amazed at the ability I am witnessing. I can see a field of light form some sort of digital sphere around her head and around her hands. I watched as the field spread out and encased the electronics around me. I'm the only one that can see this else everyone's eyes would be wide like dinner plates, and she probably connecting her mind with the net, I believe. Uploading her consciousness into the net or maybe a piece of her mind is amazing. It bit like in this one game Uzume and I played called Luv Wave. It had the same premise in a way.

I watched as she placed that tablet, my phone, and her phone down on the table of a booth and moved her fingers from one screen to the next with such speed and dexterity that it left me baffled. Suddenly she stopped the all the screens went dark. A mask of some sort… no that's the mask of The Hunter on the three screens as if the pieces are broken and placed on the screens separately. "Done. Soon she will be transferred by next week at the latest and the next one to take the case will be handled in kind to understand just how far his/her jurisdiction truly extends."

I smirked and I don't "truly" smirk much.

"Kochō," I leaned in close, "You are amazing." I kissed her forehead and walked to the back to a private booth in the back. A blushing sekirei followed shadowing her eyes from me. Even though this one isn't in the single digits she is quite powerful if used right. More than worth tethering myself to.

"I have also made a list of sekirei that will benefit you master. I believe it would work best in our favor for later in the game if you were to acquire them."

"Really?" I ask a bit curious.

"Yes," Kochō rose her eyes, "I have the current roster of sekirei about to be released right now for you; in fact the ones that I picked out will most likely follow you as their master." Kochō pressed a spot on her tablet thing and did some other motions that I couldn't make sense of at all.

In a moment, the woman did one last click and turned the screen to me. The first sekirei I saw in fact was one I have not seen yet I think. No, I have seen her before and by the looks of it this one is not a fighter like I first presumed. The outfit she wore was much like Karasuba's with the same haori as well. This one though is more of Irish/Scottish decent versus Karasuba's Asian. This woman has bid circular shaped glasses on her face and long red hair in a braid that fell over her left shoulder. The woman didn't have any form of weapon on her or appeared to have the mass to be a close quarters fighter so what sort of sekirei is she I can only guess. All she's missing now is a stack of books.

"Matsu," I said with a sigh. Memories of the talks between Karasuba, Mutsu, and I came to mind and the fact this sekirei on the loose apparently might be closer to me then I might have first thought. Of course, I'm sure I'll recognized her easily now that I know aura and have her scent.

"You know her," Kochō questioned lightly to which I shook my head. Personally, I don't other than what I've heard from Mutsu and Karasuba. Most of it isn't that commendatory. "This is Matsu, Number 2 of all 108 sekirei." I looked up to the almost forced attitude that the woman had when she said the name.

"Before we get into a talk like this shall we sit down?" I gestured to the booth then looked back to my sekirei.

"Ah," the two in front of me said. "Sure/Hai," they both responded at the same time.

I kneed down to the floor and let my grip on Akitsu's legs slacken but it seemed like she got a little clingy during the walk. She didn't let go for a minute or two making where I was standing a little awkward and comfortable at the same time. She was a little warm and not in the bad way.

"Forgive me," she whispered then took to her feet first to the floor. I need to get her some foot wear not that I mind her going barefoot but don't think it is all that comfortable for her to begin with. Her arms slithered from around my neck and over her shoulders to her sides thought they felt along my shoulder all the way down but I think that is because she didn't lift her arms only slid them off as she stood. Akitsu waited for me to sit down and when she did she sat to my right on the outside with a wall on my other side. I never liked the inside but sandwiched with beautiful woman in each direction isn't a bad way to be.

Uzume sat in front of me, still wishing we had left this envious place behind, but I took her hand in my own to calm her. She sighed and squeezed firmly but softly with a smile. "One of those day's huh Koibito?"

I looked down a little at the mention of that and nodded. "One of those days Angel."

Uzume rubbed the top of my thumb with her own to keep my attention. "Can you let your hood down in here?" I leaned my head back at the sudden request. "Please," she pressed. I cracked and did as she asked me to do.

"Now about Number 02," Kochō said in slight annoyance. I also noticed Uzume's eye twitch but it was subtle at best and faintly noticeable. These two seem to know this particular sekirei to a point that it makes them tense. This begs the question of, "Who is this Sekirei?"

Kochō frowned for a moment before answering. "Matsu: number 2, is a brain type sekirei like myself." A brain type and one of the single digits at that and yet has yet to be winged by anyone. That is curious indeed. "She's older and more experienced than me, that I am willing to admit. I would prefer that you don't wing her master."

"Then why put her on the list then?" I questioned.

"Because," she growled and changed the screen. "She has the same ability, no I could say her ability is much more... comprehensive than my own. It's because of this that she's a threat to you if she is winged by another it would prove disadvantageous." She's taking all of this into consideration and letting go of her pride to ensure victory in the end. I must admit, this sekirei is an interesting one.

"Only one problem though with this."

I want snort at that comment for there is always a catch. "A large problem with many smaller ones under that I am sure."

"You… could say that. In fact, Number 02 has been missing for over 6 months. Currently I do not have the power to access more on Number 02, but I know that her disappearance is tied to this sekirei." Kochō showed me the screen again. My eyebrow slightly rose at the woman I saw on the screen and so did Uzume but her version was more of a short of a lifetime sort of reaction if anything. "I believe you already know her as well right master?" Kochō peeled her eyes from me and glued them to Uzume.

"Tssk," I clicked my tongue and looked up to my Angel Uzume. The veil sekirei chuckled nervously with a sheepish rub of her head. "How could I not, right Uzume?"

"I wonder who that could be heheheh." Uzume murmured trying to feign innocence and failing at it badly. This was her carrying a badly injured Matsu in bridal carry that much is clear to me.

"Whatever," I said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "We can talk later at home if we go back to the inn today," I pushed a red box on the top right corner and the picture shrank into a folder. Uzume sighed in relief and Kochō rolled her eyes.

"Very well then." Kochō dismissed my action though I could see by the way she is touching her tablet that my action was something she didn't approve of. "The next…"

"Before you continue I have a question."

The woman nodded her head. "Yes Ashikabi-sama."

"Just how many sekirei do you have listed that you wish of me to have total?"

"8 in total master."

"8?" Uzume almost thundered.

"Yes." Kochō answered coolly.

"8" I repeated.

"Yes. All of them are well versed in different abilities as well as use of the elements I found useful for this game. I know from what I have seen you are a hands-on sort of man when pushed. Coupled with your ability to mask yourself from view I also choose a close quarters sekirei for you along with an element or nature based sekirei. The ones I choose will match you well and you're getting stronger as an already powerful ashikabi since you've already attracted three."

So, she knows of all my other Sekirei and not just Uzume. This isn't a surprise to me at all.

"Three," Uzume asked and I shook my head. "Ya know what, I'm going to the bathroom." Uzume rolled her eyes and stood up leaving the three of us at the booth. Maybe it's for the best.

Kochō watched the woman get out of earshot before she did something else on her tablet. To do it she went silent for a moment focused on the task. "As an ashikabi I planned for you to become The most powerful myth in this game."

"Myth?"

"Yes," the insight sekirei nodded, pleased with her plan. "The more sekirei you wing the more powerful you become as an ashikabi and as result more powerful sekirei will be attracted to you as well. If I did my calculations right, the ones I choose won't be able to stand near you without a reaction like mine was. As your record shows you are like a phantom or a ghost in the system. You're one of the most feared unknown characters in this city because of your still unknown capabilities. Most don't know who you are but those that heard believe that you don't even exist and that shade of mystery is what will give us an edge in the sekirei plan. You will become the most well informed, powerful ashikabi, and the last thing that anyone will never see if they cross you. You will be like a ghost building power until you are ready to strike and I will do my utmost to ensure this master. We, your sekirei, will be your shadows, always there and growing larger the closer you get to the light known as the end. This I swear."

A smile formed on Kochō's beautiful face. "I can see that already you have three pieces to success master," her eyes glanced at Akitsu then back to me, "and only more will come." I could only smile at this little plan of hers. I liked it. To wait and build our strength while being a horror to my enemies. To let the knowledge of my power leak in small acts here or there and allow the foolish minds of man to take care of the rest. A Ghost Ashikabi with a shadow so large it covers a region yet goes easily unnoticed. I didn't care about the game because of the Group known as Nomad that I've been contending with and the monster superpowers I've had to extinguish in the last couple months. The Sekirei game was the least of my worries and low on my priority list since it's yet to inhibit my movements. But I'm curious enough to humor this sekirei and her vow.

"I agree." Akitsu inaudibly said but I heard her loud and clear. Akitsu has been quiet the entire time, neither talking nor moving some as an inch from her sitting position, but what she did do was watch me through the corner of her eyes. She's been examining me little by little. My every move and action. I couldn't blame her because if I was in her place, which I am, I would examine the sudden stranger that I, by some hand of fate, ended up crossing paths with. I have watched her carefully like she has watched me, but I have very little to get from her other than the few things I know already and not because I'm not looking hard enough. It's because there isn't much more that I can notice from her stationary state of being. She did nothing else except 4 things at once and the normal person does at least 40 to 60 from normal bodily movements to that actions they can control without years of stillness training.

Kochō regarded Akitsu with a twinge of surprise but then nodded in approval at her supporting view.

I hummed and crossed my arms while leaning back in my seat. "You have an appealing plan Kochō. You're a very keen strategist any sensible man would kill to have with him in a game like this." A dust of red blessed her cheeks. "Can you tell me the rest of the names and possible locations?" I asked a little curious of where she might take this. I'm not going to wing sekirei forcibly but I feel she knows this already.

Kochō nodded with the red deepening. "But some might not accept you right away until you're stronger… but the Sekirei you have currently surprised me. It might be destiny or maybe proper coding." I noticed Kochō glancing at someone and I sensed her behind me.

"Mutsu-nii and I make do a good pair for him. You too, I guess." Uzume caressed my shoulder before sitting back down in front of me. Took her about a three minutes to finish her business.

"Mutsu and I?" Kochō looked at me questionably to which I just shook my head. "In-deed," she answered just going along with Uzume's blissful ignorance for now. Something that Akitsu blinked to which I didn't miss because my eye has yet to leave her.

"Yep. Mutsu was his first and I'm his second with you in third place but me in first. It's only right, right?" Uzume took a quick shot to which Kochō just looked at me then switched the previous screen she was on to a new one. She used all five of her fingers and tapped on her screen fast to the end. Uzume looked over and giggled at just what she was looking at making me really curious. Not that curious to spark a long line of questions right now or enough to ask about this later. Kochō is a grown woman and women need their privacy, right?

"It seems our food is here."

"Huh?"

Uzume pointed behind me and line of waiters and waitress all came to our booth with platters of food ranging from domistic to exotic.

"Your orders are ready sir."

"Ah," I looked over to Uzume and she shrugged.

"I ordered while you and sister glasses here were getting to business," she confessed smoothly. The shot towards Kochō wasn't missed by either of us same with the smirk on Uzume's lips once we passed the Veil shot taker a look.

A couple drinks were sat down in front of us as well. I had a strawberry kiwi juice I think, which I didn't mind. The flavor tastes good. Kochō had a banana juice or something like that. Uzume had a blue and white drink with the blue on the bottom. Akitsu was given jasmine tea for some reason. "I took the liberty to also order drinks as well. I hope you don't mind? Although I think Kochō is supposed to get the tea not the juice," Uzume pondered.

"No, no it's fine. Thank you for what you did during our talk," I said before I gestured for the girls to lay the food down.

Akitsu and Kochō looked down to each other's drinks with the same looks on their faces. I reached over and switched them around and sat back.

"I wanted that," Kochō said and I switched them around as well.

"Same… with me." Akitsu spoke up.

My eye twitched and I switched them back.

"I still want the banana juice," Kochō said again.

"God damn it," I sighed.

"Waiter another banana juice and tea please," Uzume snickered at the waiter then the man bowed and ran off to get our new order.

"Thank you Uzume," I said gratefully and Uzume gave me a thumbs up. "But before we eat, Kochō," I called.

"Yes," she did instantly to my call.

"Take care of our other tail however you see fit." I've notice that I've been followed for a while now being another reason we took our time to get her. Kochō has worked well with the time we've had to find a fix for our loose end.

The ghost of a smile formed on her lips and her glasses glistened "As you wish… Ashikabi-sama."

* * *

An hour later

* * *

"Ah ha! That was a good meal," My seemingly only enthusiastic sekirei announced as we exited the steak and lobster place. My seemingly Only sekirei that wore her emotions on her sleeve; unlike the cold stoic Akitsu and the blank poised Kochō. That's something I have noticed about my current sekirei. Uzume and Karasuba are the only ones that are the most physically intimate with me. They literally show me exactly how they feel without need to hide their emotions; not that I want to be physically intimate with Mutsu or anything; but the man is sometimes lacking more emotion than I am, by choice I might add.

The bond with the sekirei I have is as close I have been to raw emotions in a long time. I find this to be not only mind rushing but also equally interesting. I can feel Uzume's happiness right now and Kochō's balance of annoyance and amusement. Feeling three emotions at once, even though they didn't stem from me, still feels like a part I 'feel' I must understand.

But not now.

"The next place to go is the clothing shop I assume?" I directed my question towards Ms. Enthusiasm.

"Hell yeah and show off!" she didn't fail to impress with the overbearing level of light she produced.

"I will not 'show off' as you say," Kochō dismissed Uzume's sudden flight of emotion.

"You will if Otieno asked you too," Uzume responded slyly to Kochō's denouncement.

Kochō fixed her glasses. Why does she do that every time Uzume does that witty thing on her. I suppose it is a tic like most of us have. I could assume she does that as well when she goes into deep thought and judging from the subtle glances my direction from the woman, it's pertaining to me just as much as it was related to the response to come. "That is beside the point, I don't plan to flaunt like you do."

Uzume sneered in a very Karasuba fashion. "Come on, the only one allowed to check me out are two people in this world. Not sure about you but I plan to keep it that way."

"Hm." Kochō put her phone away with an ever so faint smile. "I see, well then we should hurry and give you the opportunity to flaunt to your chosen ones then. I have work to do."

"Work," Uzume asked with a puzzled look on her face as she cupped her chin with a single finger. "You work in this city?"

"Of course not," Kochō rolled her eyes. "I work for only one in this city unlike you apparently."

Uzume shrugged taking no offense. "Don't care if you agree for I care for my Otieno as well as our Chiho together. A sandwich is my aim after all with the three of us and Chiho in the middle."

"Uzume!" I growled and covered her mouth. I couldn't see it because of my covering her mouth but I know she has a snobby 'I got you' sort of smile under my hand.

Uzume reached up and pulled my hand down without any form of resistance from me. "You know you want to but you are too prudent to do it. A kiss is as far as you go all the time ya know?"

"An ease of access into the topic is simpler than to break and enter forcing the issue."

"But what if I want you to break and enter," she returned back pushing me from my chest until I was at arm's length.

"You and I know she's getting healthy but she's not there yet. Please settle down." Bringing up the health out our little left Uzume to feel a bit sad but she nodded when she remembered how Chiho is recovering right now. Uzume understands that I'm the cause of it but it's not because of money. I'm not paying an incredible sum of money for something I can fix with a routine visits I make anyway.

What Uzume doesn't understand is how I do it even though Chiho sings praise of my magical abilities when I show up. She loves my stories and magic shows and we've become noticeably close. When I visit I let her sit in my lap like a child and I admittedly baby her a bit. I can't help it and neither can Uzume.

"Alright," Uzume relented. "How much longer do you think she has? I can wait a little longer but I'm eager."

"Give it a two months and I'll take care of it. I promised that I would remember?"

Uzume gazed upon me with her light growing bright once more. "Yes," was all she said before placing a small kiss on my cheek. "But I do like the time I've had with you alone." Uzume rubbed my cheek making me gulp at the look she gave me. "Because I love breaking your little wall down little by little." I pulled her hand down and walked past her toward the direction of the mall.

"Hm, it seems another weakness is the female aggressive and flirtatious approach but only from overly appealing women. Signs of high preferences in bodily details but not in race," Kochō remarked like she just found the way to cure world hunger.

"You right about that," Uzume snickered. "Apparently he never gave women the time and you have to be very "hands-on' and direct with him. He's especially weak towards when I place my hand..."

"Uzume," I growled at the woman.

"You can stop me now but you know I might tell them later once we have some girl time about rules and boundaries," Uzume bemused at the truth of her words. I could waste time to isolate her from Kochō and Akitsu but that time and energy is needed elsewhere.

I hate to admit it but my interaction with woman in the past usually involved killing them, killing monsters alongside them, stealing priceless riches together, or kidnapping them. Other times I was greeted with that presence of a Succubus like Uzume. Even though I'm much more experienced than "me" months ago I'm still getting accustomed to having beautiful women with me beyond the "comrade" standpoint. Uzume is the most alien to me, because of the way she handles me and smiles in triumph whenever she gets her way or gets to me period. If this was a fight, and I mean a more physical fight like with Karasuba every time I see her, I could handle it. A test of physical constitution is simple, but in this regard I am at a loss.

"Anyway, I am interested about ah… you, you ah…" Uzume stopped a bit over herself.

"Akitsu," the woman answered my veil sekirei in that cold stoic way with sharp eyes on her as well. Eyes that were previously looking around in what seemed like vigilance but are now settled on a woman who could barely take it.

"Ah, yeah, Akitsu w-would you like to know where we are going?"

"It does not matter," she answered in the midst of a hard exhale that almost made her sound like she's growling as well. Her tone may have scared Uzume but what I felt was a little akin to when Karasuba is upon me. I could hear and feel the power in that voice and it made me a little excited. Though now that I think of it that seems a little wrong. Getting excited from strong woman figures must stem from my previous interactions before I met my first sekirei.

"Oh, okay well, I suppose you already know dontcha?"

Akitsu looked at the woman again through the corner of her eye and nodded.

"Then you know what you have on is not going to fly right?"

Akitsu looked down in genuine confusion at her attire. "What is wrong?"

"Come on sister, you have a lab coat on covered in blood, no shoes, and no underwear. Even though Otieno doesn't care You should at least to a point?" Akitsu blinked and looked back down pulling the coat open but I quickly closed it. From what I learned people look down on public nudity and anymore police involvement would be slightly aggravating.

"Why?" Akitsu asked once I placed her hand back around her coat to keep it closed.

"Because uh," Uzume tapped her chin looking up in thought then snapped her fingers. "Because Otieno-kun would love to see you in more proper clothing."

That got Akitsu's attention because now her eyes are on me now instead of her coat.

I nodded when I peered back. "Another reason I'm adamant on this shopping thing is for you all to find proper clothing you might want. I want you all to look your best even though you're all beautiful to me already." I smirked inwardly at the blushes I received from all three of the sekirei behind me patting myself on the back. Damn god job, I made Uzume flustered and the Ice queens behind her but can I keep it up? Why yes, I think I can.

"You think I am…Beautiful… Otieno-sama?" I rose and eyebrow at the sudden question and the look I saw in her eyes. It was slightly fragile and not like how I picture the Ice Queen to be at all times. We are all human I suppose even Karasuba in her attraction to me and habit of teasing me with her body. The first female body I wanted in a long time other than Uzume's when I first saw her as well but mortals can't touch gods or angels.

"Of course, why would I think otherwise?" I looked over to Uzume. "I'm confident in Uzume's master skills at picking out clothing and your own desires to pick out an outfit for yourself."

"And some costumes and a swimsuit as well. Maybe a black strapless," Uzume added in.

"Uzume," I groaned.

"What, you know she would look good in either white or black or maybe a mix of the two."

"Hm," I grunted for I did agree with my sekirei on this one. She would look good in black or white. Colorless colors would be better for her personality that anything. "Depends on what she wants as well." We looked back to the Ice Queen and waited. "What would you like to wear?"

"Anything… you request Otieno-sama."

"Good, then I'll leave it up to you," I said ignoring her response and walking on with Uzume as the lead this time around.

My veil sekirei was almost bouncing in place with excitement being a little too ecstatic right now at the coming act of buying clothing. Before I would have found this uninteresting, for the most part, but things change I suppose. Now I have three women I have to find suitable casual attire for which shouldn't be too difficult to do seeing that this isn't the first time I've had to do this. Sadly, this isn't going to be the last. For as long as I can remember the female species has been going shopping whether visually or physically for 'stuff' that they may or may not need. Only the poorest of women couldn't do this out right but they still make do some way or fashion. I'm not saying that they all do it but many that ended up traveling with me did. Bethany, Hideki, Kuu, Dahlia, and even Rin as well.

I don't understand what it is about woman and clothing. It was always "I want the best silk" or "does this make me look fat" or "do I appear satisfactory to thou in these garments" and the list just goes on and on. You would think that with the large amount of randomness that happens in life the majority of women wouldn't have time to be that annoying, but I was wrong. Some of them know of the opposite sex enough to understand us men to a point to get what they want. That or maybe all woman inherited some form of ability to read men like an open book and use that ability to take control of us. Maybe that is why I say 'yes' a lot more that I should be saying 'no' like a fool. It's happened for almost every circumstance that called for a woman desiring something like this.

Now that I think of it Uzume plastered on a sad face when she figured out I haven't spending all that much time with her and like one of those suitcases I folded to her will. But when she did that sad face her emotions were anything by sad. They were conniving and conceiving in nature and amused when I gave her what she wanted. Gods above, even now I'm being controlled. Who's to say that Kochō or Akitsu won't do the same or worst learn from Uzume on how to do this. That or maybe things might grow so far that my choice will be thrown out the door and they will contest for my attention. That would be as infuriating as it would be entertaining.

"All right, we made it." I blinked and we were there like the saying or play on words goes. I looked up to large building comprised of mostly windows on the outside with cement like support as well not that it would affect much I believe if there was an earth shake or maybe a big wave. The building had men, women, and children of all ages entering and leaving by the dozens every second and akin to my previous thoughts the woman had a smile on their faces and the men looked to be more miserable looking than a bloodhound. Each dragged their feet with an unknown amount of cases or bags on their arms. Relationships should be a job we're paid for because the man is always the pack mule. Not me for if they buy it, especially with my money, they can take responsibility to carry their own packages. That's one rule that will never change for as long as I will live. You will pull your own weight and take full responsibility for your actions if you're the direct source of the ripple in the water.

I prefer to stay out of large crowds like this, but sometimes I have to be the snake and slither through. Speaking of snakes something snaked around my waist and pulled me toward the large 'Mall' thing that I really didn't want to go inside of. There was something about being in confined spaces packed with more people than it is rated to have that made me uncomfortable, but it seems that I had no choice in the matter.

"Come on, come on, come on let's go." Uzume practically dragged Kochō and I into the mall with Akitsu following silently behind us. Kochō was as excited for this as I was which rounded out to be obscure at the most for the both of us together. I could feel her reluctance to go inside but we had already reached this place so the odds of us turning away now are slim to nonexistent.

As we entered the mall almost immediately I was amazed at the size of the shopping center. Instead of taking half the city its compressed into this one building, floor by floor, with so maybe moving staircases leading up, down, straight, and even one that goes in a circular fashion around the mall. The shops around me are so very numerous as well with at least thirty from where I am standing currently at the front doors. I can't even see the ending of the large hallway because it curves leading elsewhere. It could be infinite for all I know. I do t frequent this side of town from outside a car and this mall is strange to me. I think this is the firs time I've been inside.

"Hehehe." Uzume waved a steady hand though my line of sight until I subconsciously followed it up and down then side to side. "Don't lick the windows too much Otieno." Uzume tipped up to my ear with one of her sly smiles. "I need you aware for the next part and the part after that."

"Really," I mused yet again as Uzume chuckled away with a sway in her walk. I rubbed my head. Uzume may be a demon with how she acts sometimes. I followed Uzume quietly as she led us to the rising staircase. I placed Akitsu in the front with Uzume for reasons I wouldn't have bothered with explaining. If it wasn't for the teens that are checking out my girls, Akitsu included, I wouldn't have shielded her between Uzume and I. It doesn't take a genius to see that she wasn't wearing much under the combination of my coat and the lab one. The naked feet are that apparent. A few have attempted to cope a feel on my property and I nearly broke one man's wrist.

"Ah!" I rose up a young man's hand just shy and entering Akitsu's coat tail and squeezed until his wrist jammed, just shy of snapping it in two. I pulled him in and presented him to Akitsu. This was the fifth time so it's times to make an example. "God, let me go! Please!"

"Apologize for attempting to commit molestation upon her and I will. Say it exactly how I said it," I worded firmly.

"Ah, okay! I'm sorry I tried to cope a feel and molest you! I'm sorry!" The young man of maybe 16 cried.

"Do you accept his apology Akitsu?"

She nodded slowly without a word.

I released the boy and let him drop to the ground. I held him up to the point that he stood on his toes.

"Let's go." I gestured with my head forward and Uzume continued with a sigh.

"We really need to get ya some clothes, that's something that has to come first. And maybe some sort sexy underwear as well." Uzume pondered. Kochō scoffed from disgust. Uzume lead us up to the fifth floor which was the women's garments department. An entire floor for woman to buy whatever they wanted from jewelry to lingerie.

Kochō was staring at the directory thing for the longest time and what can I say, I got curious find out what she was looking at. I walked silently behind Kochō; not that I needed to because of how loud it was in the floor let along the building. "Ashikabi-sama." Kochō said knowing that I was behind her and pointed to a place on the directory on the eighth floor. "Electronics and gadgets," that's what the red collection of squares said in big bold blue letters. Kochō wanting to go to an electronics department wasn't all the surprising in the least to me. When she turned to me and I nodded the go ahead. I reached into my back pocket and pulled a card out for her to take. Kochō bowed and left briskly with the card in hand.

Uzume and Akitsu left from their previous spot out of sight. I felt my eyes morph and tracked down their willpower to one place that had a store with long row of mannequins each with very… striking clothing. I approached the store and saw them outside of it and not in it. It seems that Uzume isn't the lead in this one and she seems a little anxious to go into that shop.

I sat down on a bench instead of following. Goddess I'm tired and all I did today was walk but my brain felt like it was running faster than light right now if that is possible. Some much happened today that it shouldn't even be possible to deal with so much in one day. I have seen over a dozen or so seikirei today. Uzume and I took out three while winging one then we adopted one that is supposedly broken that was a gift to me from Minaka. It's an early release apparently before the critical adjustments could be made. That's what Kochō told me. Today is so eventful.

It all started with a simple walk because of Uzume and I can't be together without initiating some manner of physical interaction. I met or encountered too many sekirei in one day and a good amount got a good look at me and Uzume. Then I winged one of these sekirei that's been watching me from afar that turned out to be a jewel in the game and modern world. Then Kochō lead an unknowing Uzume and I towards my "gift" Akitsu. She's yet another sekirei but can't be winged and I took her with me before the other ashikabi I could feel could come and get her. Apparently message about his gift was sent to four other ashikabi in this city and I'm the first to approach out of four days. I have Kochō who tracked her down for me though and I feel she's been directing me towards Akitsu the entire time. Kochō truly is a gem.

So far the day hasn't been all that bad but it will eventually because one of those kinds of days always turns south. The questions are just when it will happen and how it will happen. I know the little conflict from before with the glasses wearing man and his entourage wasn't severe enough to qualify as a day ending spat so all I can do is continuing with my plans until the enviable life threaten fight comes or something that forces my hands to take my sword up again.

I couldn't help but let my eyes wonder the things around me. It was a central shopping section all in one single building instead of taking up a fifth of this city like the ones I have visited before but then again that was over several hundred years in the past though. It's still quite amazing what happened prior to my coming here. Mess with a witch that researched into messing with space and time it lands you in another place when you don't kill her in time. I am taking this quite well surprisingly. Being in a different time with so many wonders. And with very beautiful women.

I rolled my neck and rose my hood further down over my head.

"Ashikabi-sama," Kochō called over to me but I already knew that something was wrong. I could feel it.

"I thought you took care of our other tail?"

"New tail."

That was the answer I didn't want to hear. I stood up from the bench to my full height over the glasses wearing Sekirei. I could handle this myself but then a thought came to mind. I let the faints smirk appear at the corner of my lips and looked down to my sekirei. She didn't show any emotion or response to my stare down but I could see it in her energy. My gaze was making her anxious. "W-what is it?" She stuttered a little mentally shuffling in place.

"I want you to develop a plan of action with the mission to either completely avoid or eliminate the enemy." Then I took Kochō by the shoulders and replaced the starstruck sekirei to my spot on the bench. "I expect it completed by the time I come back with Akitsu and Uzume. Don't take too long." With that I turned around and walked to toward the pure energy I felt emanating from both sekirei.

My senses led me to a different store with mannequins draped in clothing of different kind but it was all women's. Swimsuits, dresses, suits, casual wear, and even lingerie. Strange, I assumed that there's separate stores for each of those if the manga I read mean anything. I threw these thoughts to the wind and proceeded inside. The woman at the counter noticed me coming inside and looked at everything else expect me once she took a glance. I could tell without even looking at her that she's nervous and now a little anxious about my being in this store and couldn't understand why. Could it be the tattoos on my arms that are a little intimidating to the woman behind the counter? I could understand that the one in my right arms do, after all the demons sealed within me use it as a focus to project their aura on the physical world. Now that I think of it I haven't visited them in a long time. They've been so quiet lately. I clenched my right hand and felt the under my skin burning sensation that comes from whenever one of them wake up. This one is making me feel…impatience and pride. It makes me feel strong like I could lift a house if I so wished it.

I relaxed my grip and continued in the store. Uzume energy spike all of the sudden. It seems my sudden release of demon energy didn't fall within deaf ears. She felt me and seemed almost too eager during my approach. I moved pass the many racks of clothing to a room in the back. Changing room. I guess they're trying things on. I saw Uzume standing behind the curtain to the changing room. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over chest. "Uzume." I called but to no response. I know that Akitsu is in there with her but what the hell are they doing? I heard a couple crashes and the sounds of fumbling. I rubbed my head.

"O-one moment," I heard within the dressing space.

I looked back to the bench behind me and sat down with my arms still crossed. I closed my eyes and mimicked Mutsu and the way he rests his energy. Head tilted downward in a little less than a 45, eyes closed to the point that they are Karasuba squinted, and my hands gripped my ribs. I guess all I can do is wait but right now I can't stand waiting right now. If that curtain was a brick wall I'd break it down just to break this bitter silence. Gods above something better happened and soon before I let the jack out of the box and no one would want that. He's not as nice as I am. I rolled my shoulders and opened my eyes a little more. I could see the carpet and its multiple colors from red to blue and even green. I hate the color green. The only reason I didn't turn it red is because there are specks of red already. Maybe a little more red wouldn't hurt though. That woman could cover half of this floor and bring some color to these white walls.

"Hehe heh," a low and dark chuckle escaped my throat. It wasn't my voice that made this chuckle though. It came from a deep and dark place within me. I took a breath and left this alone for now. I can't go around killing innocent people yet. I don't have a good enough reason to do this yet.

"Oh Otieno," Uzume cooed for whatever reason.

I had long since rested my elbows on top my knees for the, by my watch which I don't remember getting, eight whole minutes. I could blow up three buildings in this time. I could have done my nonexistent taxes in this time. I could have come up with a battle plan on how to assault the MBI clock tower in this time but instead I've been forced to sit here and wait for some uncontrollable little girl…

My eye widened. "Whoa."

Uzume smirked and pushed the curtains away fully revealing her in that… I'm not sure what it is but it showed off her body and yet covered her breasts and crotch. It like underwear but the fabric is wrong and it stretches down her sides and back yet kept her stomach open. Her legs, I'm not sure what to say. I've seen her in that maid outfit and it was appealing enough but this showed off her creamy and smooth skin. Like marble sculpted by a master same with the rest of her body.

Uzume turned around and placed and hand on her hip curving her body. She looked back with the same smirk on her lips. It was full of cockiness but also enticement. "So, what do you think?" I barely heard a word of what she said. My body shot to it feet and stood up. Uzume turned around to face me. "I guess you like my swim suit if you're speechless?" I took a step. "Just wait until…"

I didn't care about what else she had to say. I didn't want to hear what she wanted to say. I just wanted to claim those lips I found very irresistible right now. I took her hip and her thigh in hand and pressed my lips to hers. Our bodies molded together and a pleasure I found I'm unfamiliar with took a firm grasp of my mind. I saw white and not just from her wings and rose from her back. I still had a coherent awareness of my surroundings and I didn't want to explain a light show in the middle of this place. I took Uzume by the legs and hoisted her up earning a surprised groan from her. Her hands came out and cupped my cheeks and her legs wrapped around my legs. Her tongue broke past my lips and teeth and started a match against my own deepening the kiss. I walked forward into the changing room or a changing room. Her wings pushed against the sides strangely but I forced us both in without effort. This felt so good. Uzume feels so amazing but even that was an understatement. The bond I blocked off to keep myself free of unnecessary emotions and influence but the moment I saw her I felt something in my mind break. I had to have her. I had to touch her. I had to become one with her.

This list was different from Karasuba's. Uzume's felt earnest and much warmer. Like molten rock poured on a block of ice my restraints didn't stand a chance once I saw just how beautiful Uzume really is in this outfit. This swim suit. I reached up and pulled the ribbon holding her pony tail up off. Her lustrous brown hair feels like a blanket over her back and my left shoulder. I felt her hands push against my cheeks. Our kiss broke hesitantly and like before I was awestruck. Uzume also wore a mask of confidence and playfulness but this time her face was so flushed, her eyes glazed over from the pleasure we shared staring into my own, and the hard pants that burned so hot I could actually see her breath. I almost assaulted her lips again but she keeps me at a distance.

"Otieno… We," she panted again. "We can't… Store and…" She tried to explain but what left my mouth killed the reluctance I could feel through our bond. Blue and dull was this emotion but quickly it turned red.

"Uzume," I sounded so desperate and weak that if Karasuba were here she'd be laughing at me but I don't care. "I need you…" I breathed out. "I need you too much to care."

Uzume's eyes widened and if possible glazed over even more. Her hand wrapped around my shoulder and mashed out lips together into a wet kiss. I felt something on my shoulders and then felt my jacket fall from them. Let go of her one hand at a time to drop the unneeded piece of fabric. I reached for the clip on my chest and the sword I had hidden underneath dropped to the floor as well. Suddenly Uzume was on her feet again and my back was against the wall.

Uzume seemed even more feverish then me.

She shot to me and slip her hand up my shirt and around to my back pulling it up little by little while the kiss resumed. When my shirt reached up my back midway I broke the kiss and licked her neck right where the nerves are. Uzume light out a harsh exhale of air in response. I kissed and sucked on her neck and helped her pull my shirt up. I pulled back and quickly threw it away. Before I could get my hands on her again Uzume was doing something. She reached up to the top of her suit thing and pulled it straight down. Her breast burst out and like always they are amazing.

"Thank you," Uzume whispered in my ear which she licked causing a shiver to sliver up my spine. I was thinking out loud again but didn't care. I reached up and grasped on of the same softest and biggest pair I have ever had the pleasure of touching. We which end sides and her back pressed against the wooden wall of the changing room. I molded my hands on her breast and pulled her leg up rubbing her flush against mine. Uzume's moan was more than a good motivator to keep me going with my ministrations.

"Ah…"

Just like that I froze in place as if I was hit with the frost breath of a hundred dragons at once. I froze to the point that I didn't even breathe. Uzume groaned in frustration at the sudden halt of our little 'activity' but then noticed something behind me. She looked over my shoulder and her eyes filled with so much shock I thought they would burst. The strange thing was the curtain to the room was to my left meaning and through my peripheral vision I could see that the curtain was still closed blocking the view from both sides. If no one outside the room made that noise and if Uzume is looking right behind me in shock then that could only mean one thing.

I let my hand fall from Uzume's rear, not sure when I started groping her there, and her leg fell down from my side. I took a breath but remained calm while facing towards my angel. "We're not alone, are we?"

Uzume blinked at my question then shook her head left and right. I took another breath.

"Is it someone we know?"

Uzume silently nodded her head up and down. That narrowed it down a great deal. Who else do we both know that could happened to be in the same store as us and in the same dressing room? I took a third breath and looked directly into Uzume's eyes.

"Is it Akitsu?"

Uzume put on a nervous smile and I knew. I did the brave thing and turned around to face the woman. The yuki hime was indeed sitting quietly on the only bench in the room with her back on the wall. She sat sort of formal but with a light swaying her of her legs while they're crossed. She placed her left hand over her right one but gripped the bottom hand tight to keep it still. It didn't work because I could still see her hand shiver a little. It hovered right over the place of her nether regions as well.

She finally covered chest with some sort of lime green bra with frills or something like that protected the modesty she didn't have previously. Honestly, I thought it looked good on her same with the matching panties. Light green isn't a bad color on her but I can't help but imagine her in black. I love this time period and its times like this I'm relieved I was woken up now and not before. I notice with the severe lack of clothing her chest rose and fell in an irregular and deep fashion. Probably in collaboration with her harsh deep breathes that matched with her flustered state perfectly.

Her eyes, by the gods her eyes pieced the both of us with their intensity. I had to ask her the questions even though I know the answers already.

"Did we barge in on you changing?"

Akitsu methodically began to moisten her lick her lips and take a breath. I was already seconds from letting that irrational side of me go and Akitsu's sensual actions didn't help calm me down either. I had the sudden and compelling feeling to kiss her as well but that was more base lust if anything. I could rein that in thankfully. Akitsu took another minute to come to terms before answering with a quiet and yet firm, "yes."

I nodded my own head this time like Uzume did for me. "Did you see… everything?"

Again the ice woman took a moment before doing that usual blink she does before replying. "Yes," she said but a little louder than the last one.

"Kiati," I cursed myself and my lack of self-control which put me in this position. "If we bothered you I'm very…"

"I…don't mind." I blinked a couple times before her sudden rejoinder. I brought my eye up to her own which were not Averted away slightly to the left. The flush on her cheek is now more pronounced then before and spread to her ears.

"W-what?" I stuttered like an idiot but that truly wasn't anything close to what I was expecting. I had assumed she'd write us off as a bunch of idiots or lusty little children than can't hold back for longer than a second. I had expected a healthy amount of criticism or maybe I've listened to the ranting or tales of the Innkeeper's chastening a little too much that I'm expecting it from everyone.

Akitsu finally drew a line across the room with her gaze from Uzume who's still behind me probably with the same amount of shock as myself and finally on me. "I found it…beautiful."

"Beautiful?" Uzume questioned instead of me.

Akitsu nodded only once and blinked. "The way you both moved…touched each other… Kissed each other, and gazed upon one another," Akitsu bit her lip and closed her eyes then nodded her head downward.

"The physical and mental connection between sekirei and ashikabi," she seemed to struggle to get out. "Witnessing you both giving everything to one another willingly and…" Akitsu finally opened her eyes and looked upon us. That cold and stoic look was gone. What I saw left me utterly speechless.

"How he said he needed you and the powerful emotions behind each word. It was… is so very beautiful to me," she finished with an impact that left me staggered.

I stepped back away from this sekirei. I looked back to Uzume and both joy but equal measures of sadness shown on her expression.

"Oh goddess Akitsu I am so very sorry!" Uzume fell to a full bow. Her breasts were still out and almost hit her in the face but she didn't care. The situation turned from hot as a volcano with red energy pouring through the bond to Antarctic cold with a deep grey flowing into me. Sorrow and pain from seeing this sekirei suffered like this. Guilt from how selfish I acted while with my ashikabi. How I let my own playful nature play on his inexperience causing something like this to happen.

I looked upon the surprise in Akitsu's eyes at the two of us bowing for her. She took a couple calming breathes and slowly her cheeks took on the usual paleness they held before. "It's to be expected, so I hold no ill will."

"No Akitsu we fucked up!" Uzume's cursing wasn't lost on either one of us. It just showed just how serious this was to her if she's willing to do that.

I looked back to Akitsu to follow on. "We… no, I acted without any thought of my surroundings and who might be watching or affected by us. I'm at fault for causing you distress and if there's anything you want from us please do not hesitate to speak your mind."

"What koibito said, please tell us how to pay you back."

After what felt like an eternity a ghost of a smile rose to this snow woman's lips. It was truly beautiful to see a smile on her face. Just when my image of her was of a stoic uncaring woman after this last couple minutes that picture was wiped clean.

"Can I have a moment," she stopped for a moment. "A moment alone," she finished while lifting up her clothes she's yet to put on fully.

Uzume blushed and nodded quickly. She rose up and pulled her swim suit back up then walked to the curtain. She stopped with it pulled halfway open and looked back. "Sorry again Akitsu." With that she walked out maybe to change back into her clothes form before.

I sighed and leaned over and picked up my shirt and threw it back on. I picked up my belt, not sure when that came off, as well as my jacket. I grabbed my sword as well and started to make my way out.

"Otieno-sama," she called stopping me from leaving fully. I glanced back to the snow woman and gave her a nod. Akitsu stood up and rose a ribbon up in hand. The one that both Uzume and I failed to notice.

"Thank you." I reached and took it from her grasp. Before I could take my hand back her took it. I had to fight my bodies reaction to this sudden and foreign touch. I watched silently as she rose my hand up painfully slow to chin level for her then changed grip. She closed her eyes and held my hand close to her before placing it on top of her mark. I didn't know what to expect from this action so I just followed suit.

This mark is strange. I have never seen anything like it then again I'm sure I've never seen a sekirei in the past. Then again I would have never had known it was a sekirei unless he or she reacted to me. Maybe they've been around for a long time. Maybe the ship found with this one hundred and eight wasn't the first one. I don't know but anything is possible. This mark isn't one of a kind though. Block, reroute, then release is the mark's main function. If there's more to be discovered it will take more research and time to figure out. Time which I don't have currently.

A slightly red faced Uzume, who couldn't keep her eyes off of me for longer than a few seconds, and a fully dressed and stoic still Akitsu followed behind me as we left the fifth store we went to. Some after the time I've found them we met up with Kochō just after Akitsu got herself fully dressed and is now leading us away. Akitsu dressed herself in some form of kimono that she was about to take but I had to put my two cents in. I don't mind her choice of that white kimono like top with a long skirt. I didn't see her as the 'clad in white' sort of woman. I chose somethings that appealed to me which is what she wanted more than anything it seems. I also had to express the importance of "buying" and not just "taking" the merchandise from the stores. I'm a thief but also believe in good business and healthy enterprise.

She wore a black kimono with a yellow obi tied down in a bow at her left hip. The designs on her kimono are red tsubaki flora with branches along her shoulders. I bought her a pair of yellow sandals with a green strap for her feet and around her neck hung a pendant of the same flower that doubles as a hair clip for her hair if she wishes to remove the chain. I made sure to buy the kimono in a size that fits her impressive bodice. Her chest, her hips, her thighs, and her ankles are covered. Pretty much made her appear as the formal inn keeper sort and hid her assets well enough.

Uzume sort of influenced the design a little but it stopped there. She wanted Akitsu to show a little more and I wouldn't allow it. If this woman was going to belong to me then I wasn't going to start showcasing her around like some arrogant tit. That's what Uzume is for because I can't really stop her. I know I have a few stunning women following me but I don't need or want to flaunt it like Uzume would say. Like I said, I can't stop her. She does whatever she wants. And besides there's some business that needs to be taken care of and its best they look respectable at the very least.

I'm not a prude though and did allow them to buy what they wanted. My only question would be, "Why the chains?" I looked back to Akitsu who wore a chain around her neck leading downward between her breasts to her sleeves. She flushed faintly. "I wanted them," she put as simple as possible. I can't blame her with wanting a weapon and with elemental users chains are an excellent weapon to manipulate said element through. I accepted her answer because of this even though I know those things are for an entirely different reason. I just have to figure out what that is.

I have at least nine bags full or clothing, jewelry, and computer parts along with a box of something 'necessary for the plan to go into action' that Kochō brought to me to carry… I'm carrying her bags. I would throw them at yet for her to carry but sadly she's working on our new tail. Uzume tried to give me her bags and I rejected her. She used a distraction maneuver and unconsciously I took them when she asked. Clever little girl. Akitsu's bags though… I owe her for before so in the end I'm carrying most of the bags like a mule.

God damn it.

We followed the tech sekirei whilst Uzume chatted up Akitsu the best she could. "So Aki…chan? Can I call you Aki-chan?"

"No," Akitsu fired back in tone so methodical and cold that the very air around her turned cold. Uzume flinched as if struck when her happy-go-lucky nature smashed straight into that brick wall of a glacier in the form of a humanoid.

"Okay," she tried to make light of that response. "Well then I'll just call you Akitsu then okay?" Akitsu didn't answer but her eyes did swift over towards Uzume. Uzume gulped and took a step or two away from the ice woman. "Akitsu it is!" She rose her hands up defensively. Akitsu just continued to stare blankly at the veil sekirei.

At this range I could tell the difference between their powers with ease. Akitsu's power is studded because of her mark over her forehead and lack of an ashikabi unlike with Uzume and yet Akitsu's power is so much more emboldened than Uzume's. If Akitsu so wished it she could kill Uzume in a single breath and it would be easy. She wouldn't see it coming. If the two fought on even ground I'd say Uzume would last five minutes at the most before she would fall. I have fought opponents that could use ice based magic in the past and they, in my opinion, are some of the most versatile fighters I have ever faced. Some have almost killed me compared to fire users and I'm highly susceptible to fire. It's ironic that I can take a bolt of lightning without so much as a flinch but fire on the other hand hurts a lot.

I believe Uzume could feel the difference in power between the two. That or maybe she's a little anxious over stories of this ice user. Uzume knew of Akitsu the moment we saw her and by the way she's behaving whatever she was told about Akitsu wasn't positive. I didn't tell Uzume to get along with Akitsu and I can appreciate her attempts right now.

"So do you like your clothes?" A glint appeared in her eye, something both Uzume and I noticed. A smile appeared on Uzume's lips the moment she saw it almost like you see in manga. "Do you like them because Otieno and I tried really hard to find you something nice for you to wear?"

Akitsu looked down to her kimono as she walked. Then she reached up and fiddled with the obi, then the borders, then the seams at her chest, and finally and sleeves with slight tug as if testing their length. "They're adequate."

Uzume smiled like the fox she was turning into. "I'd hope so because he actually finds you quite 'agreeable' right now." Akitsu and Uzume both turned their attention towards me. Uzume gave me an expectant gaze. It held equal measures of playfulness and excitement, maybe about her progress right now. Akitsu though looked at me with the opposite emotions that Uzume expressed. Akitsu was afraid, frail, and maybe expecting me to denounce everything that she heard.

"You're quite stunning in your new clothing and I pray you believe it yourself as well. I picked them because I believed they fit you but if think differently please tell me or Uzume." I finished before looking back to the front.

Akitsu blinked and turned her eyes away from me but a ghost of a smile rose to my lips when I saw the same on her lips.

"Next time we come here we can get you a swim suit as well. Maybe even a maid outfit. Otieno really likes those. Last time I wore one he was all over me," Uzume gloated proudly. Kochō snort but remained to herself. "It took a moment for him to contemplate what I was wearing but I can tell you for a fact he knows how to use his hands."

"So you're his toy." Like that the direction of the conversation took a turn in the opposite direction. Uzume's eyes widened and Kochō tripped forward a step. I had to catch her and help her back up. She gave me a slightly embarrassed "thank you" for my troubles.

All eyes shot towards Akitsu and she returned it blankly.

"W-what?" Uzume stuttered.

"You dress up for him," she pointed out. "You... let him do as his pleases… with you." She paused creating a drastic effect without meaning to. It impressed me.

"You are his doll correct?"

I heard a snort and glanced back. I noticed Kochō struggling to hold her tablet up to hide her face away from view. Her shoulders shivered and quaked as she fought the urge to laugh at Uzume.

"A doll like at one shop where you bought…"

"Ah no!" Uzume rose her hands up and waved them in front of Akitsu and blocked my vision on her. "No, no, no, no! Okay that's enough of that." Uzume's cheeks were a rosy red when she noticed my eyes gliding over her.

"A shop with dolls eh?"

"Hehehe!" Uzume chuckled nervously.

"What did you get there?" I asked.

"Nothing!" Uzume exclaimed.

I looked towards Akitsu. "What did she get?"

"I said nothing," Uzume reaffirmed but I didn't believe her.

"A leather thing… and a blindfold."

Uzume looked so betrayed right now.

"Which bag?" I lifted my arms with the many bags I have to carry hanging from them.

"No please don't tell him!"

"I thought it was nothing Uzume," Kochō finally decided to bud in with a smirk. She even said Uzume's name for once albeit mockingly. "Why are you so flustered?"

"I…ahh…well," she stumbled over herself.

"Why are you… flustered?" Akitsu asked as well but more out of inquisitiveness than the contemptuous pleasure that Kochō got out of it. Uzume withdrew into her shell so I stepped between the her and the other two.

"Her reasons are her own Kochō; you don't need to worry about this right Akitsu?" Both sekirei quietly backed down once I stepped in.

"Of course/Yes Otieno-Sama," the two of them answered.

"Good. Now let's keep going. Kochō find us a good area where we could do the least amount of collateral damage and witnesses."

"Wait what?" Uzume took my shoulder and pulled me back so I could face her. She recovered quickly from her rough patch. "What are you planning?"

"To see what else you can do." I waved my head in the direction of Kochō and walked up behind her. Kochō took point on hers and my phone.

"What do you mean by that?"

"He means we're being followed by someone that wants what we have," Kochō answered from behind her tablet now that quickly replaced her phone. When did she switch the two?

"Currently an ashikabi is following us with at least three sekirei acting as his entourage." I continued on with my Insight Sekirei's statement.

"And they will most likely excite a conflict with us." Kochō followed.

"So I wish to see both you and Akitsu in action to see how you stack."

"Of course we don't wish to cause a scene so ashikabi-sama wishes for me to lead us to an area we can do this."

"And if your wondering who or why I'd say it's the ashikabi that was tailing Akitsu before according to what Kochō has told me."

"As for the why it's most likely because of his own vanity."

"Why are you two doing that?" Uzume voiced loud enough to break the chain the both of us had.

"Because we are on the same page," I answered.

"Something you have yet to be able to do while wearing clothes apparently," Kochō quipped, I think.

"Kochō," I sighed and she just rolled her eyes.

* * *

The kid...yes kid of maybe 14 or 15 with some sort of white blouse and trousers appearing as some sort of noble's child appeared in front of us. Lucky for us we found ourselves in a vacant series of lots with the land just waiting to be scaled but for now it remains empty. It's around 8 acres of space with a few little buildings around us but not enough to cause drastic collateral damages. This way I can keep my pocket untouched after all I don't have an unlimited amount of funds like I hope I never get. What's the fun of try to build more money if you have all you could ever want? Now the kid has two Sekirei with him. One with a double blade and another with what appears to be a whip. I'd say they're in the thirties or less just from the small amount of…energy? I'm still unsure what sort of power these Sekirei hold. My first guess is chakra or spirit energy but it feels like none of them.

"My word do you know how annoying it was to chase after you?" The kid complained but I hardly noticed. I'm more preoccupied with trying to figure out why a kid is following me in the first place. I didn't steal any toys as of late so why is this kid following me? I can see the two sekirei standing behind him appearing a little nervous and hesitate about something. Maybe it's the thought of fighting us or something mundane.

I rubbed my head and drew my eyes towards Kochō. "His name is…"

"I'm sorry," I said quickly before she could finish. "I really don't care who this kid is." I faced the Japanese kid in fancy clothing and asked him, "what do you want?"

The kid frowned. "How dare you address me as 'kid, you ruffian!"

My hand rose up to my forehead and palmed the skin smoothly. I reached for my sword but I felt a hand on top my own stop me. I looked back to Uzume and noticed her giving me a look. I blinked for a moment at her look of distress and a little bit of fear. Her hand trembled for some reason as well on top my own.

"Master," I heard from a frail sounding Kochō standing close behind me. "Please calm down."

Calm down? I am calm. I'm the calmest I could ever be right now. I'm just not in the mood for something like this, this early in the day. It's not even four in afternoon yet. First, is the fact I'm pressured into the Chaos Dome creation schedule, then I'm literally kicked out of the inn I've paid to live in, forced to go without breakfast on a wild goose chase around the city, made enemies with some ashikabi with three sekirei that will more than likely be back for revenge, chased after by the police and their detectives, forced to carry more bags and boxes than I wished in one sitting, and now I find out that a brat has been following me for goddess knows how long. I need an outlet right now.

I reached for my belt buckle and pulled. My sword came off and with it my other tools of the trade as well. They must not want me to mutilate them with my blades like I desire to which is understandable. Who knows who could be watching right now? Causing the unexpected death of a rich family's brat will give the police the edge they need to crash down on my "honest" business and I can't have that. My work has lowered the crime rate in most of the city and taken a fair bit of drugs off my streets. So far I see myself as doing good in the grand scheme like always to control the darkness. Some don't understand this.

I took a couple breathes in and then out. "What do you want from me," I asked calmly and waited for a satisfying answer. The boy snort and lifted his head to me as if physically looking down at me. My eye twitched. I could ring his neck with two fingers if I wished it and have half a mind to do it too. I dislike teenagers so much. Every one of them should just die or grow up and leave us adults alone.

My views are bias yes, but it's not without reason after all most of my suffering was caused by teenagers, all of them noble, and upset with me just for doing my job. I may have taken care of a family member or two for a healthy sum of money but is all a part of the job. And yet they saw fit to throw soldiers at me and sent numerous hunting parties after my head. I couldn't do a thing because it's against the code to kill children that have yet to reach adulthood and are not targets. Sadly, none of them became targets until after I left country for the Middle East and Africa to sail. Lucky them.

This kid though won't be so lucky once I get my fingers around his neck and two into those little eyeballs of his. Let's see who looks down on who then. For gods' sake, I've killed a god and this brat dares to look down on me like this. Such disrespect needs to be…corrected.

"But since you asked," the kid finally stated. "I want what's standing behind you?"

I looked back and took my physical eyes off the kid and his entourage of sekirei and looked at the building behind me. It's still being built so I suppose it's not too late to take what's built down to match your desires. I faced back with a questioning look. "Then why not just buy the building and the lot then?" I mean honestly. Why follow me halfway across the city just for this? The answer is that he isn't following me for a lot and I'm just acting the fool just so he'll do the predictable bratty teenager thing and shoot first ask questions later. Or in his case never again.

The kid blinked then stomped the ground red in the face from fury. "No, you idiot! I want that standing behind you!" The kid pointed at me. "The sekirei."

I looked back and saw Kochō then looked back at the kid. "I've already made a contract with her so why do you want her."

The kid stomped again.

"Mikogami-sama please calm down," one of his sekirei tried to soothe his rage.

"Quiet you!" He snapped and then turned towards his sekirei and began to rant at them.

We listened to him rant for…

"Uzume the time."

"It's been seven minutes."

Yes, that long for him to stop complaining to his sekirei about me and about how he lost his newest toy.

"I'm so relieved," Uzume sighed in said relief. "I have you as an ashikabi instead of that kid. I'd wanna…I don't know but I'd do it," she groaned.

"So your saying I'm a better ashikabi compared to that kid? I'm almost insulted."

"What? Why?" She said frantically.

"You're comparing him to that young boy number ten," Kochō clarified. "Can you blame him?"

Uzume cringed and looked back at me then the kid. "I…no I guess not."

She guesses? I'm still offended.

"He must be here for the scrapped number," Kochō finalized on and I agreed with a nod.

"I knew that the moment he approached. Do you know how many sekirei he has total?" I asked the woman.

Kochō fiddled with her thing for a moment. "Around four already."

"four?" Uzume said shocked by the number. I frowned though. The fact that he sees Akitsu as an 'it' instead of a 'her' really made me uneasy.

"What should we do then Otieno?" Uzume questioned.

I crossed my arms and shook my head. "It's not about me or us," I spoke and turned around to face a blank faced Aktisu. "It's about Akitsu and what she wants." The woman blinked at my words. "This kid wishes to take you away," I noted to make sure this got across clearly. "You're your own sekirei so if you wish to leave me I won't stop you."

"Master I…" I rose my hand up silencing Kochō.

"I'm not an oppressive man that holds others against their will." I looked back towards the sekirei of unknown number and gazed intently at her.

Akitsu drew her eyes from my face to my chest. Her hand rose and gently pressed against my chest. "I do not wish… to go anywhere where you are not," she whispered but loud enough for me to hear.

"Then no force on this Earth will stop this." Before I turned back around I caught a harsh reddening of the ice sekirei's cheeks.

"Heheheh," Uzume chuckled to my right.

"Hm," Kochō smiled from approval to my left.

I picked up the large number of bags and other things up. "Let's head home. Maybe that woman has forgiven us enough to let us in."

"If she didn't we could get a hotel room," Uzume offered sly with an equally impish grin. I thought about it. It would make sense seeing that the hotel section is closer to us right now and would be easier to manage over that insufferable woman and her rules. "All of us staying under the same roof in the same room might be fun and we'd never be interrupted like at the Inn." Uzume was hitting all the fine points. Honestly having impossibly beautiful women willingly giving themselves to me like they do is in the realm of unknown to me. Unknown but not undesirable in the least. I sort of like the thought of being desired for more than just my power, my abilities, or my money. To Uzume all of this barely comes off as secondary. She just wants us to be…closer?

I'm not sure how to process this at all.

Kochō stated her wishes blatantly. She only wished to have me instead of any other rich or powerful ashikabi in this city because of what I'm capable of doing both in the light and behind the scenes. She wants to be at the top and be challenged as well as protected. Something I will do for I kill for much less than to protect my inner circle. I've killed for some man giving my sister figure a look I didn't agree with. I fear that she knows this. Taking lives are a norm in the old days and I've long taken a shine to it.

Karasuba wants a few simple things from me. Attention, physical contact, and greater power for her sekirei core thing she told me a little about. She wants nothing else and I can deal with this easily. It's the same as every other man and woman that selfishly wanted me for their own wishes. That makes her easy to please and easy to keep controlled if she doesn't go…yandere? That's the word I believe. I've seen her own version of a yandere glare and it sent a shiver up, down, and around my spine. I'm not stranger to fear but that one was so primal it left me froze like a deer in head lights. I was the rabbit and she was the tiger. "Don't ever cheat on me." Those word and that look made me gulp. I can kill Karasuba. I know I can but she can also kill me and she'll do it with a smile on her face at that out of anything.

Uzume though is much more confusing because she wants something I can't necessarily give for I'm unsure how to. Our bond transfers emotions maybe that's how they felt the savage calm I had previously that turned my blood cold. It works both ways and I can feel things like usual and use the color code as well to translate. Orange, meaning excitement. The thought of us all going to this hotel and us having our constant interrupted moments bought to the much-awaited climax excites her. Blue, meaning distress or sorrow. She's at odds about something but whatever it could be I can't guess. Red with a streak of black, passion inversion which means she's angry. The dark side of passion is always rage. Uzume is furious about something. I can see her gaze turn into a glare once she turns her attention towards the kid. I can feel the heat from her anger burning my chest and stomach. It felt good.

I looked back at her. It took me shuffling everything from one hand to the next but I succeeded well enough to free my hand. I preached for my sekirei and placed a hand on her shoulder. Uzume blinked and drew her eyes towards my own.

"You lied to me."

She blinked again and this time in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"You 're angry and uneasy. You always tell me that beautiful and sexy women like you never feel negative." I smiled at her the best I could. I must have succeeded in helping her ease the hurricane growing within her. A smile rose to her lips as well but much wider than my own.

"You're right," she sighed lightly. "I shouldn't be mad at a nobody."

"Nobody!" And the kid's attention is back on us. "How dare you call me a nobody?"

Uzume groaned. "And he's back." I walked between my sekirei and this ashikabi.

"Listen, if you're after Akitsu she's agreed to stay with me."

"But I…" I rose my free hand to stop the kid and shut him up with a stern look I've used on kids before. Like then it works now.

"Forgive me for getting in the way of your claim and if it pleases you I will owe you a favor."

The kid stared at me. Then he cupped his chin and mused over my words. "What sort of favor?"

I shrugged. "I will not go by my better judgment and drown you in a river for one," I said dryly.

The kids jaw dropped at my words. It wasn't a threat. A threat would be just a couple meaningless work without actions to back them. I plan to do just that and end the kid while making it look like an accident.

"How dare…"

"Akitsu can you disable the two sekirei and Uzume can you hold him down?"

"Yes/gladly," they both answered though Uzume's was more sinister.

"What?" The boy turned around and looked back. "You two, hurry and…"

Akitsu moved fast. Really fast. Faster than the two sekirei with the kid could react to and stopped between them in a crouch. When she rose her hands, as if we all were dropped in the Arctic itself, the temperature dropped drastically. The kid stepped back away from her right into a white ribbon. One the quickly wrapped around him like a constrictor.

"Let me go mhhh mmmh!"

"That's enough out of you," Uzume pressed a silky white strap around his mouth and wrapped it around his head while he was suspended about the ground.

"Ashikabi-sama!" One of his sekirei with a double blade screamed and attempted to rush towards Uzume. She couldn't make it two steps before a block of ice built up around her feet and spreading up quickly. The same happened to the other sekirei and the ice spread up.

"Move and I will react in kind," Akitsu's tone was so cold it finished freezing what the ice didn't freeze over being their waist up. She rose her hands out and shards of ice aimed down upon them ready to fire down icy wrath at the slightest movement.

"You see kid there're major differences between you and I." I walked up to kid and stopped in front of him. I looked directly into his eyes and could read him like a picture book. The kid quivered.

"Ashi…"

"Do not move," Akitsu said again but made no move to press her threat down.

"Calm down," I said to the kid's girls. "I don't plan on harming you, your sister, or your ashikabi. Just relax and let me speak and then you may leave peaceful. Fail to acquiesce at your own peril." The sekirei nodded swiftly showing their understanding.

"As for you," I looked at the kid. "I don't care for you and I have half a mind to kill you and take you and your sekirei out of the game permanently before it's even began." The kid quivered and paled. "But I won't because it will cause me trouble. It's also not the right time for ashikabi to be facing against one another." These words come from higher and I'd rather finish my war in the underworld of this city before dealing with the game.

"I don't like to be followed. I don't like boys that disrespect women and think of them as objects. I don't appreciate disrespect towards your betters and elders. And I hate it when someone demands something from me. Akitsu wishes to stay and that is her choice. Until she decides otherwise this is how it will be. If you ever come on front of me again like you did before I will erase you from the face of the earth. So please…please," I narrowed my eyes and growled. "Disobey."

"Mhhh! Mhhhhhhh!" The kid shook his head left and right furiously.

"I'm happy we could have this talk." I nodded to Uzume and she released him sat him down to the ground. Akitsu though kept the two sekirei in ice. Most likely until we leave.

"Tell me why," the kid gasped. "She's broken and can't have an ashikabi. The freak in his tower said so and I've been searching because no one else claimed they would. It's not fair!"

"I don't care," I dismissed everything I just heard. "Akitsu is a strong and beautiful woman. I don't care if she's 'broken' as you say or a sekirei. I wished to help her no matter the circumstances and I will," figure her out and see what sort of spell or seal is plastered on her forehead. I kept this to myself of course. "As I said, I'm sorry if this seems unfair to you and appears a waste of your time." I took a knee down as the boy looked up to me. "And as I said I'll owe you a favor for this case of injustice towards you." I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a card. "I'm sure if you and I came to an understanding we could go far so here's my card." The kid reached for the card and looked at it. The calling card of the mask on top should be known well to most rich families in this region and by the look of shock on his face this kid's family is no different.

"Y-You're part of the Group? T-The Beheader." That's one of my nicknames.

"Mr. Kill Bill!" My eye twitched when he brought that one up.

"The one thing my father spoke about!?" The kid fell back and clawed back away from me slowly.

"You're the man who cut my dad's best friends head off in front of him and didn't even bat an eye!" I thought back on the different bosses in the room and don't remember a human with his likeness. I think I do see a semblance between him and another though. One of the monster's but this one is human. It happens when the monster gene doesn't pass over. It's recessive when they mate with humans.

"If you know my reputation then you realize you're lucky to be alive right now." I reached down and helped the boy up to his feet. "And if your father knows me and speaks of me then you must know that eventually I'll be coming for you and your family like the other two, yes." The kid was afraid now. The slaughter of the prior heads that challenged me is well known in the underworld.

"Y-yes sir," he said humbled by me.

"Then you should know as well that it's best to be with me than against me, yes?"

"Yes sir."

"I owe you a favor and you have my number. Tell your father about this and that I'll be seeing him soon."

"Who are you?" That kid shivered in place with his hands quaking. "I never heard of you before and then you showed up out of nowhere. You even hide your face in public. Just who are you to place fear and such uncertainty in my family. We are the third most powerful family in this country and yet my father fears you. Who are you!?"

"Nobody," I waved and past him and his sekirei. "Akitsu you may release them."

"Yes," she instantly followed my command. She stepped behind me. My left and right were taken but Uzume and Kochō respectively who looked at me in disbelief but refused to speak of what they just heard. "Let go home…then get to that hotel if it's not safe."

"R-Right." Uzume responded.

"Hm." Kochō grunted without any words to speak with.

"Yes." Akitsu spoke in her usual way.

* * *

Two hours later

* * *

"So this is Maison Izumo." Kochō noted. Her eyes shifted from one side to the next.

"I believe yourself and five other sekirei live under this roof correct?" I thought about it. There's the one behind the hidden door I have yet to meet, there's Homura who works as a host, Miya of course who owns this establishment, Mutsu my second in almost every way, and finally Uzume. The answer is yes, there're five total sekirei living under this roof with me being the lone earthborn.

"Yes, that's correct." I didn't need to see or be psychic to see the look of shock on Uzume's face.

"You know?" She stated the obvious.

"I know Uzume."

"How?"

This time I looked back at her with my eyes drooped. "I've told you once before I can sense your kind. It's not that difficult after all…you're not human." I noticed Kochō tapping on her little tablet after my words. "Sensory abilities above that of a normal human. Possible science experiment or anomaly in the system. 010110011." Once she began saying numbers I gave up listening to her.

"Of anyway," I broke the tension building but I know that with my sudden reveal of abilities I have a lot of questions I might have to answer later in the day. "This place is where I stay for now. I'm sure that if I explain to Innkeeper she will allow the two of you to stay here without much fuss. If she does have a problem I can just as easily relocate you both to a secure building in the city I have acquired during my stay here." The two sekirei said nothing in response which is fine with me. They heard me and that's all that really matters.

"Well we might as well go instead of stand outside all night." Uzume pointed out.

"Yes," I agreed. We approached the door and I knocked it.

"Always be on your best behavior and watch out for this woman. She's not to be trusted in my opinion." Kochō stopped tapping her tablet and looked up to me. Speaking of which… "Put that away as well Kochō. She doesn't like current technology out around her." Kochō hummed in discomfort but relented. She pulled the edge of her top out and slid the tablet away into her chest that somehow fit inside of it. She pulled the seams back over and sighed.

"Miya isn't as bad as you see her," Uzume defended the woman again. "I have nothing against her for I still don't know her background but what I've seen it doesn't help me bring her in a bright light." Uzume can't really retort against this. I've know the innkeeper for a shorter time than her and so far her attitude, the way she treats myself and the others like children, and a few other things makes it harder for me to like her in any way.

The door suddenly opened up revealing the tired grey eyes of Homura. His eyes slid from me to everyone else around me then back to me. "Morning," he greeted tiredly. I rose an eyebrow. His hair is disheveled with ends splitting every which way as if he just got out of bed. Seeing that we work from dusk til dawn it's no surprise that he's just gotten up or was woken up by my loud knocking. "Hey…Jaeger it's you," he yawned and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. "I see your back…" He looked around again. "And with friends."

I nodded. "Kochō is my newest emerged sekirei." I turned to the side to present her to him.

Homura's eyes scoped out my sekirei up and down. "You're the one that was hovering around…"

"I was number 6," Kochō said sharply. "But no longer. I've found my true and preferred ashikabi."

Homura furrowed his brow before shrugging. The guardian of unwinged sekirei then shifted his gaze towards Akitsu. His eyes suddenly narrowed at the sight of her sort of reminiscent to the look that Uzume first gave Akitsu the moment she recognized her. Or maybe it was that they recognized the mark upon her brow that has them looking at her like she's beneath them even though Akitsu is more powerful than even Mutsu. I'd say if Akitsu had the same level of experience as Mutsu she'd actually hold her own enough to get a win. I'm not belittling his own power or abilities but I know potential when I feel it and Akitsu's as vast as an ocean. Much like Homura's. If the two of them fought I'd be the first to get a front row seat to that.

I could see it before he even said. His eyes said everything. I rose a hand in a stopping gesture and frowned at the male sekirei. If there is one thing I will not tolerate is this level of discrimination against Akitsu, his sister sekirei, one of his very minuscule race, and he looks upon her like she's the plague.

"Homura," I said his real name which drew his attention to me. He's eyes widened when his eyes met my own then suddenly averted them. I didn't need to say what was on my mind for him to understand what I felt for him right now. I said it anyway. "I'm disappointed that 'you' would look upon a sister like she's less than a flea," I said fully disgusted with him. Homura winced at my tone but I wasn't finished yet. "I would have expected better from you seeing that her situation is very akin to yours."

"I get it," he lamented with his head down. He faced Akitsu and bowed his head. "Forgive me for my rudeness I meant nothing by it."

Akitsu just stared at Homura for a moment before answering. "It is fine…I am broken and you…see me as such."

Uzume, Homura, and Kochō visually winced at the coldness behind that blank tone Akitsu used. Homura was hit with it at full blast. Akitsu is strong enough to project her emotions out even though we do not have a bond with her. This is another testament to her lament power behind that mark that holds her back. I wish I could take it down. I wish to see the god locked away behind it.

"I'm very sorry," Homura said again and bowed a little lower this time. He sincerely meant it this time. Akitsu must have sense this because the aura that covered the area faded away. Uzume panted softly and Kochō wiped her brow of a fresh covering of sweat.

"Accepted," the woman spoke volumes with a single word. I wonder now what it would have been like it I would have found Akitsu first over Karasuba. I would have ignored everyone and everything for her that much I know.

"Thank you," Homura said grateful to have earned the ice sekirei's forgiveness. "My name as you heard is Homura but by day and at my job I go by Kagari. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Akitsu glanced over at me and I gave her a nod. She looked back to Homura and said, "You may call me Akitsu," in her same slow and methodical way. Homura took in her name and looked to the left in thought.

"Is Miya home," Uzume asked.

"No," Homura said quickly bit then appeared hesitate. "Or at least I don't think so."

"Four more," Kochō murmured to herself. I heard her but didn't question her on it. I caught her expectant gaze upon me though.

"Come in," Homura slid out of the way of the entrance.

"No point in standing outside all day until she gets here."

"Thank you Homura." I walked past him and Akitsu followed close behind me. "Homura can you escort Kochō and Akitsu to the dining room while Uzume and I put her things away?"

"Sure." Homura waved for the two to follow him and walked away. Kochō followed almost instantly but Akitsu hesitated. I looked down at her and saw a small sliver of fear in her eyes. I looked back to Uzume and she shrugged. "You wish to follow me Akitsu."

"Yes," she answered instantly.

"Very well." I escorted Akitsu up and showed her my room as well as the rooms of Mutsu and Uzume. I placed the clothes and the like on the floor of Uzume's room. "Uzume, can she stay in the same room as you?"

"Eh!"

"Try not to sound too appalled by the idea," I deadpanned.

"N-no. That's not a problem but I'm just wondering why when we have plenty of rooms she could sleep in."

"It's because I don't wish for her to be alone until she's used to her surroundings. Of course, if this is a problem she could just sleep with me."

"But I sleep with you!"

"I have a queen sized so it can take it. And if you keep being difficult I'll make it so she's the only one that can."

Uzume grit her teeth then smiled at me. I narrowed my eyes at her and transferred my seriousness across the bond to her. Uzume grit her teeth then sighed.

"Fine," she relented. "She can..."

"I wish to sleep with you Otieno-sama," Akitsu spoke for herself.

"Then I guess it's settled," I shrugged. "Uzume, I'll leave the clothes to you."

"Wait. Why are you cutting me out so suddenly?"

"Because you've had your time on screen," I smiled at her and left out the door and walked down the stairs.

"Wait, what!"

I smirked at her and left her behind with Akitsu right behind me to show her around.

* * *

A/N: Main Protagonist's neat of Sekirei: Karasuba, Mutsu, Uzume, Haihane (Winged by Natsuo), Kochō, Akitsu(Broken), ?

Kochō has a plan and it may or may not go into effect but only time will tell. Being almost 12 chapters in I have to a few more main cast appearances in soon. Minato being one of them. The plans I have heheheh.

Pieces of the Whole: Already winged that fill a portion of MC's Heart

Resilience - Mutsu

Compassion - Uzume

Ease -

Warmth -

Joy -

Patience - Kochō

Strength - Karasuba

Kindness -


	12. Embrace New Ideals

**Chapter 12: Embrace New Ideals**

* * *

"Jaeger-kun you've been busy," the Innkeeper, my land lord, and the one that holds total authority over my current living arrangements stood over me as I sat on the pillow of the dining room table with both of the "newest" additions to my nest here before her. I allowed strangers into her home without addressing her concerns and questions first, which is a mistake on my part. I'm already on thin ice from this morning in the bathroom and then I had to bring two women here of sekirei origins here before her without so much as a phone call, not that the geisha here even carries a phone or communication device, isn't good. At most she has a listening device hidden somewhere on top of the many others in the inn that I've choose to ignore. If she wants an uncomprehending amount of spy material littering the dark corners of her home I'm not one to judge that harshly. Everyone need a hobby.

When I left Uzume to her devices I was left to show Akitsu around the inn so she'd be familiar with the surrounding area, the structural weaknesses, as well as the exits in case of emergency. I've been forced to create a couple modifications to the inn, of course with the innkeeper's permission, to lay down the necessary fortifications to keep this home base of ours safe from the monsters. As I figured before the monster of this city are after the sekirei and Tamanin of this city mainly because of their scent and aura. If I can sense a sekirei so can they being why I'm the begrudgingly proclaimed "Protector of Sekirei" after all the works in the shadows of this town to keep the game rolling. The discipline squad does good work but my group are the true authority behind MBI. It's nice to have some backing from the company just to keep a couple people safe from the likes of the supernatural. Being a hunter is what I do and being paid to do this is much more… hollowing.

Akitsu seems to like the inn though I'm not sure what she likes. It's only been a couple hours since we both arrived at the inn and even our meeting so I don't know much about the sekirei. I don't even know what the full extent of her powers are now that I think of it. Her powers are interesting and situated by ice manipulation but I wonder if there some high tier of ability I've yet seen from the Ice Goddess next to me. I couldn't help but allow my eyes to shift towards the kimono clad woman to my left as she sat quietly and patiently close. Her eyes met my own for a moment which didn't surprise me. She's been starring at me for a while now. Her eyes are faintly off me and I've been a bit curious on why that is. I suppose she has her reasons and with the hopelessness I could feel radiating off her soul hours ago maybe she's in a state of shock still that I willingly "adopted" her. That's basically what Uzume thinks and she didn't need to say it for me to know. I can only imagine how heated Karasuba will be once she finds out what I've done.

I felt a shiver rise up my spine suddenly and glanced back at a dark corner in the room and swear I saw a pair of grayish red outlined eyes glaring at me before fading away. I haven't gotten Mutsu's council pertaining to my latest wing and shattered angel. Huh? That's not a bad way to describe Akitsu. A Shattered Angel Akitsu. The shatter sekirei. Well she has the ability to freeze people so shattering a limb that's frozen isn't in the realm of impossible for her. Or maybe I can go with fallen goddess. I thought on it for a moment until I heard a resounding "Uhhm." I blinked and drew my tired eyes back to the Innkeeper who's still standing over us at the moment with her hands together at her waist. Before one was over my mouth to cough and get my forlorn attention. I nodded my head and waited for her to continue.

"Jaeger, I know you have a tendency of losing focus and drawing your attention every except where is should but I'd appreciate your attention to remain on me for the next couple minutes. No doubt you can do that for me," the Innkeeper stated firmly with a tightened grip of her fingers from a mixture of frustration and a bit of annoyance. I rubbed my head a bit and thought on her wishes. I suppose it doesn't hurt to pay attention for a couple minutes.

"Forgive me what did you say again," I asked her calmly. I know she's been talking for a moment now but the topic wasn't interesting enough for me to pay too much attention too. My the sigh that woman let out she realized this as well.

"I was telling you that if you wish to bring anyone here from your "business'," the Innkeeper rose her hands up and two fingers and squint them at the word business. Of course she knows about what I do and who I do most of my work for. Of course she doesn't agree with it and has been debating on whether or not to kick me out. And of course she won't because as it sits I'm the one that stands between her and a possible war with the supernatural beasts of this town and MBI. I'm also keeping her sekirei safe from the ogres and the Council. She has control over my living arrangements and we have an agreement to keep my business between the both of us and those involved. I have to keep her informed of any of her Sekirei involved and luckily, it's only been four at most. "You have to keep me informed even if they are… different," the Innkeeper's eyes flowed Akitsu's way.

"Of course," I nodded. I leaned to the left and pulled my hand up to present my first. "This is Kochō and she's my newest wing Innkeeper." Kochō bowed her head to the woman but remained silently despite the attention being placed on her. "And this," I leaned to the other side and rose my hand to present my newest enforcer. She seemed more than willing to follow my orders without question and even threatened another sekirei with a fate worse than death if she so much as breathed wrong. She'll fit right in but I have to think about a good mask for her to wear. Maybe a butterfly mask like a Yuki Onna. "This is Akitsu and she's currently suffering from a terrible condition that I wish to alleviate." I leaned back into my original position with my hands back into my lap. "I request that you allow them to live here with me as well Innkeeper and of course I have no issue with paying your dues."

"That's not the issues here Jaeger-kun." I blinked from confusion. If that issue isn't money then what could it be? "That fact of the matter is that you've played this game to the point that you've brought one of his ploys here and I can't accept that." I was about to open my mouth to retort but the Innkeeper narrowed her eyes at me. I bit my teeth and sat back down on the pillow before me. "Why are you playing is game?"

"Innkeeper whether or not I'm playing the game of another doesn't change the fact that I'm doing what must be done to keep Uzume, her interests, and the interests of the Sekirei in this city secure." What I found interesting is the fact that she knows that Akitsu is a gift for me from the Game Master himself to give me a tool that matches me. I feel that this was a shot at me and an insult towards my disposition towards life as well. "Akitsu is valuable to me despite her origins and its implications and I'll keep her with me for as long as she wishes to stay with me. As for playing a game," I closed my eyes and took up a slight smile before opening them again with a reddish coloration replacing the white and beige around me. "Games go both ways and the player isn't always a rookie forever. Tee creator can be surpassed by the player." I am the first ashikabi, Player One. I don't care for such names or even that Ghost Ashikabi bit that Kochō mentioned. It's just another name.

The innkeeper sighed and shook her head. "You think you can beat him at his own game?" The Innkeeper looked up for a moment then smiled. "I suppose its possible if you can have such an effected on that woman." That question is which woman she's mentioning. The innkeeper shook her head again. "They can stay, you don't have to worry about that, same with you still. You're by far the most interesting tenant I've ever had in this inn." I frowned. I don't think that's a compliment. The innkeeper doesn't give compliments outside of sarcastic quips on my impressive urges and sneaky stalkerish habits.

"Excuse me Number," the Innkeeper shot her eyes towards my brain sekirei and she quickly closed her mouth. I looked away as that mask thing I've seen once or twice appear suddenly at the mention of the Innkeeper's Sekirei status. Any mention of such is forbidden while in the confines of Maison Izumo. I guess I forgot to mention that to my sekirei. Any mention of the game is forbidden along with the use of the human bestowed title Sekirei and numbers. Especially numbers to include the Innkeeper's if she even has one. "I… uh hm." Kochō cleared her throat. "If we are to stay here Ms. Asama I…"

"Oh please," the innkeeper giggled cutely but I'd rather here a despair demon cry or sorrow demon weeping while slowly searching for me in their gangly forms and demented walk than hear this woman giggle. After seeing that mask a couple times I came to the realization that she's possessed by a demon. An Oni with a Tengu likeness. "Call me Miya my dear."

"I… see," Kochō fixed her glasses and took a couple breaths to get her bearings. "Miss Miya if I have caused you unrest or insulted you please forgive me. As my ashikabi has mentioned I'm Sekirei number 22: Kochō. I request permission to speak to Sekirei number 2: Matsu if you would allow." Ever the blunt one, which I'm beginning to realize, Kochi asked the question she probably shouldn't have asked out of courtesy at most. Even I know that Matsu is here. She arrived before I got back from whatever errands she had to run. I don't understand why she's hiding away it's not like MBI doesn't know where she's taking shelter but if it helps keep her from insane actions like hacking a weapon of mass destruction it's fine.

"Hmm," the innkeeper's hummed and tilted her head slightly to the side with a soft but almost ominous smile on her lips. "I'm unsure of who you're talking about. Who is this Matsu you speak of?" The Innkeeper's tone was a bit sinister, an obvious signal telling my sekirei that diving any further will be very much troubling for her part. Kochō though isn't my sekirei for nothing and fixed her glassed until they glared up. She will press on it seems and I prepped for the coming back lash.

"I assume no one that you personally know… Innkeeper," Kochō responded evenly and shocked the both of us. I expected her to pry but I forget they this sekirei operates more through rationality and precise calculative thinking to determine the most advantageous choice in the long run. She picked up the threat and more than likely weighed her options and came to the consensus to let this topic lie for now. The Innkeeper had wide eyes as well I'm sure from her use of the title I use which placed a rare smirk on my lips. I know this title disturbs her and no matter what this won't change. I take pleasure to see her unbalanced from this.

"Ara ara, please no need to be so formal," the Innkeeper quickly attempted to right this turn before it got too far. "You may call me Miya if you wish," Innkeeper heavily implied this was preferred. Kochō gazed my way and I met her stare for a bit. Our conversation via our eyes went back and forth about the woman and she nodded without a word which made the Innkeeper smile.

"Forgive me but I believe "Innkeeper' at the moment is much more appropriate," Kochō responded with a poised face with my pride for my newest addition growing ever so slightly. Before Innkeeper could respond Kochō coughed in a soft but firm "Uhhm," before she could get a word out. Kochō wasn't finished yet. "As it stands I don't not know you to such a degree to be so informal with one such as you. I haven't "moved in' as of yet as well meaning our relationship whether professional or not has yet to be consummated. I believe honoring your title as land owner currently will suffice and I hope you accept the way in which I desire to render you that proper respect… Innkeeper," that last word ended in the manner in which I use the word with just the right amount of condescending lucidness to be just noticeable. She wasn't done yet. Her eyes drew towards me and she said, "my ashikabi holds you to the same regard and it's only right I do that same."

I took Kochō by the hand and kissed the top. Her eyes widened a bit and she swiftly took her hand back away from me and looked away slightly. She's not the sort that accepts physical signs of endearment well but that's serving to make the coming game, one I'll win, all the more pleasurable to get her to drop those reservations.

Innkeeper stood slightly indifferent towards my sekirei and her embarrassment but not so much the shot she took from my sekirei. "I… see." The Innkeeper appeared a bit more tired as the number of rebels with Will and a brain increased. Against a man or woman with hard emotional states like Uzume and Mutsu she can control them but intellectual individuals like us it's not that easy. She should have given Kochō what she wanted. It would have made this much easier.

"And you," Innkeeper finally tuned her attention towards my shattered angel. No that won't work now that I think of it. I have two angels already. One of life and warmth and one of death and heat. I don't need one in the center and all my sekirei can't represent angels. I've killed angels after all and gods. I guess time will tell.

"What do you have to say about what Jaeger had said about you and your place?"

"He saved me," Akitsu answered without hesitation. "I am a broken tool and he told me he wanted me. I will follow him anywhere."

"That sounds like thoughtless devotion," the Innkeeper lowered herself down to the table and sit down with us. He eyes remained on the Ice sekirei hard and evaluated her every move. Akitsu wasn't perturbed in the slightest.

"He fed me… He carried me… He clothed me… He defended me… He offered to care for me... forever." Akitsu worded carefully, slowly, with much needed pauses for dramatic effect in-between in the same emotionless tone as before.

"If another came and did the same would you leave with them as well?" Innkeeper questioned.

"Yes, I would," Akitsu said and shocked the Innkeeper, but I knew this already. Any man could have came up and did what I did and she'd mindlessly follow like a drone. Though I felt that she wasn't done. "I feel if forsaken," Akitsu stopped and closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. "If forsaken by another… it would shatter me," she said ironically with a pause to catch her thoughts. Akitsu turned her gaze towards me once more. "If He rejects me," Akitsu turned her crisp cold gaze towards me and the room ran cold. "It will obliterate me," she finished and that time I am shocked from her declaration. Her verbiage had always been carefully chosen, I've figured out just from what little I've heard from her, meaning that if she said it imagine it at the upmost extreme. Kochō turned her head from the ice apparition that spoke with an aura cold enough to effect the room. Akitsu follows me for a reason deeper than a guy coming to claim her and maybe I underestimated just how intelligent and aware Akitsu truly is.

"I see. You're serious about him?" The Innkeeper lowered.

"Yes." Akitsu affirmed and I smiled in approval. Innkeeper nodded and turned her attention from Kochō back to Akitsu.

"The both of you can stay," the Innkeeper announced smoothly. "I'll explain the rules for you both and as long as you don't break them there will be no issues," Innkeeper shot a glare my way at that and I didn't react. I messed up, nothing j can do about that. I have two of the most incredible and enticing women in the world throwing themselves to me and I can't finalize our joining. Not yet. The voice and the whispers in my mind and body tell me repeatedly what to do an say to get closer to my sekirei. With Uzume it's to seal the deal already being why my world class restraint has been waned so drastically. It's not good but thankfully I do these things in times where we can't do it.

"Do either of you have any questions on what's forbidden and not here at Maison Izumo?" Innkeeper asked the two and Akitsu shook her head. Kochō responded with a shake of her head as well but with a phone out to record the rules I'm sure. My phone of all things, again. I've been waiting to get that back as well.

"Ashikabi-sama," Kochō present my phone to me and I took it from the palm of her hands.

"Well then I'll assign rooms so I'll…"

"I wish… to sleep with Otieno-sama," Akitsu stated her wishes methodically.

"I'm sorry but with this mornings incident I'm afraid…"

"I swear nothing of the sort will happened between us in accordance with your rules Innkeeper," I spoke up with my hand up to signal the attention on me.

"Excuse me. What makes you think I can trust you not to allow your beastly urges to consume this innocent maiden?" The Innkeeper giggled a bit at her own joke. "Especially one so devoted to your every whim to almost never take her eyes off you and adhere to every action," the woman listed off which is something I've noticed ad well. If I said jump Akitsu would go through the roof, of this I have no doubt. And I could see where she's coming from about urges…

But…

"Innkeeper you know me well enough."

"I know that your enjoy being troublesome," she shot back at me.

"Innkeeper," I said firmly and reached for Akitsu and took her hand in my own. I rose our entwined hands and I looked back at her. Akitsu didn't flush or become embarrassing but the contact did effect her by making her shuffle her fingers. Akitsu's gaze also wavered a bit and gulped. All these signs and a few more surfaced and once they did I released her hand and turned back to the Innkeeper who examined Akitsu with equal intensity as well as me. The connection between Uzume and I has been emboldened to then point that we can't resist the will of the other for long. This doesn't exist between Akitsu and I. I'm a broken man trying to fix a broken woman that has no connect with me or bond to keep us together. Akitsu is truly an innocent maiden and now the Innkeeper could see it. I don't take advantage of the unwilling and induce my will sexually on strangers outside of the job. I looked back to the innkeeper and said, "you know me Innkeeper."

The woman looked conflicted for a moment but nodded regardless. "Very well," she stated without a threat or warning to kill me if I break her rule. That's impossible between Akitsu and I and she knows this. "Kochō I'm sure you've moved into a room already am I correct?"

"Yes Innkeeper. It was 205. Is that okay?"

"Of course. You may leave to get comfortable as well." Innkeeper dismissed Kochō but my sekirei looked to me for guidance. I nodded and without hesitation stood and walked away. She bowed to the Innkeeper when she past her and walked out. "Mutsu please escort Akitsu around while I speak to your partner." Mutsu, who was behind the corner quietly, came from around and grunted at the order. I nodded towards Akitsu and both her and Mutsu left to talk and walk. I didn't show the woman my room now that I think of it.

"As for you," Innkeeper said to me and I faced her. "What are you planning to do with her Otieno-kun?"

I lifted my hands up and placed them atop the table. "I'm… well I have a couple ideas on how to help her." I reached for the key around my neck and placed it down in the table. "As you know I have a fair amount of artifacts on my person and this one is maybe the most powerful. I think you recognize it well." It's been a while since I retrieved this from Karasuba and every now and again I'm attacked for monsters and man that want this. The world this leads to and the power behind this key is frightening but hard to resist. This can unlock that which is forbidden or hidden. Because Karasuba held this it unknowingly unlocked emotions she's forsaken in the past which solidified the bond between us. I didn't realize until I took it back but never questioned it until recently.

"Its… familiar. It's old but I've seen something like it before but how do you have that," she asked seriously and I shook my head. Some stories or best left as that.

"I will explain later, but for now I believe I can use this along with my swords Love and Hate to help her. And if not and it's impossible to put her back together. I refuse to allow anyone else to have her. They would abuse her and her powers. Her power… has the potential to supersede yours Innkeeper," I declared and she didn't smile. She didn't call me silly or a liar. When we talk like this it's serious and I'm deathly serious.

"She's that powerful without an ashikabi. If you happened to successfully wing a broken sekirei do you understand what might happen Otieno-kun?" I nodded my head. "Then ensure nothing comes out of it. How many others do you believe had the potential to overtake me if that ever may happen?"

"I sense one other but it's young and… frail… and maybe another."

"I see… if Akitsu were to become that powerful what would you do?"

"If unwinged I'd have to do what I have to. If winged by me we can control it. As I've promised before no harm will come to your inn because of me and if it does if you wish me gone I will disappear and you'll never see me for the remainder of your years." A month back men came to the inn for me and almost tore then place up if not for Homura and I. Mutsu and Uzume went out to spend time together and spend time with Chiho with my insistence and they came. We killed them but burned hole into the wall of the inn and I cut through a wall. That wasn't a good day for either of us. That mask and it's bleeding eyes… goddess that was horrifying.

"Very well." Innkeeper stood to her feet and turned towards the kitchen. "I'm about to start cooking and could use some help." I nodded and replaced the to it's place around my neck thn stood up and followed her to the kitchen to assist. I got a bag of rice and a pot for it and got to work. Innkeeper grabbed veggies and a knife and got to chopping.

These moments we work together and help another soothingly without issue. When we work in the kitchen, around the inn, or in the yard we are in unison. Sometimes I hear the Innkeeper hum a tune as light and gentle as cotton. It's nice to hear every once and a while.

"Otieno-kun can you get the sauce ready?" Innkeeper rose her knife and pointed to a cabinet.

"Yes," I walked past her to the cabinet and grabbed some sauces and garlic. I don't care much for cooking but can if I have to. I don't mind because it give me opportunities to heavily visualize the strongest woman in this world and how she moves. I've always wondered what it would be like to dual her but I'm unsure if that's smart. I'd like to gauge her threat level but can't unless we fight. I've seen her move gracefully with the simplest of movements and cut leaves down the center flawlessly. Her finesse is on par with my old master. Both powerful women. Both kindred spirits and suffered humble beginnings, revelation, and finally a fall from Grace into what I see now. It's a shame but… still we press on. Even myself.

I grabbed sauce pot and began to as salt and sugar along with the garlic and some sauce. I grabbed a couple of seasonings and poured it in. "Not too much Chili powder," she spoke out before I started adding any. I took a breath and sprinkled some in. "Careful when the rice hits the boil," she instructed. I checked the rice and put it down to simmer. "Don't burn the sauce or add too much sugar without salt."

"If you want I can bring Mutsu in here," especially if I'm going to be micromanaged.

"And have him burn the rice and set fire to the kitchen? I think not." I snort and shook my head. Mutsu isn't that proficient with the normal household chores and do's needed to keep it clean and not on fire. Cycles back on when he almost destroyed Shion's workshop. He's such a good man but such a terrible household worker. We make sure to keep him away from the sheets and clothes especially with last time. We instructed for him to take it off the line and fold it, but somehow he didn't realize the basket had a hole in it and everything got dropped on the ground. We suffered bed bugs, mites, and a lot of irritation the next day. I nearly killed him myself but lucky for him Innkeeper got to him first who was backed by Uzume into a crushing double team.

"Then let me handle this." I stirred the sauce and checked the meat frying in it's pot. The Innkeeper giggled a bit heavenly. She truly is a beautiful woman even with her Japanese likeness compared to her sisters and brothers. Most other sekirei don't have the same likeness as her. The rest appear to come from everywhere across the planet including this one blonde woman that got in my way once then tried to kill me. Called me a monkey and last woman to call me that is my sekirei but I tried to kill her. Her, I just about cut her neck open, but let it go and walked off with Mutsu in tow. I had to step in and save him before swords and sheets got involved and fire from above.

"Something smells good," I heard a soft yawn from the exit. Speak of the devil it was Homura suffering from a bad case of bed head leaning in the frame slyly. He spotted me and smiled and I smiled back. I've always like Homura from the first moment I met him. We have too much in common not to be good friends. I left the stove and Homura pusher off the frame. Her took hands and bumped shoulders.

"Give us a bit unless you wanna help," I said to the fire being.

"Me?" he pointed to himself with his right thumb. "Help with cooking. I'd probably do a worst job than Mutsu-senpai." I gave him that but didn't care. I dragged him in and he sighed because he knew that this was going to happen. "Oh yeah I dropped the suit off while you were out with Uzume picking up… your newest additions."

"I appreciate that Homura." I brought him to the rice and opened the pot. "can you watch this while I take care of the meat?"

"Really? Nothing crazy like jumping into a group of were beasts?" He jested and I shrugged.

"Maybe next time."

"What are you both talking about?" The Innkeeper questioned.

"Nothing," we both said and smirked at each other.

"So Homura I noticed you hanging around that one girl. Mira I think her name is. You feel anything yet?"

"No, she's not the one," he ended it right then and there and I let it go. The case of forsaken ashikabi and sekirei is a rough one for him which bought me to my new thought.

"Homura, why did you treat Akitsu like a plague? A disease? A bother as if she wasn't worth your time or your space?" Homura stopped stirring the pot. Even the Innkeeper glanced back from her shredding to listen in.

"I don't know Otieno. I know I didn't have any business doing that, and I'll try not to repeat it, but it's just… why did you bring the Scrapped Number here? The little experiment alongside…" Homura stopped before he could get into it. So there's more between them than I first thought and Homura knows. Akitsu has suffered from slowed motor functions and memory loss so her word of mouth doesn't bare weight.

"I see. Well if you don't wish to talk Homura you know I don't pry." His business is his business and I have other sources like Takami. If memory serves she needs me to go in for a monthly check up this week. I need to schedule that. I turned back to my task and turned off the heat. I grabbed some grasps and pulled the chicken and beef out the pot to the sauce pot to simmer.

"The reason I brought her is because she's stronger than most others I've seen and can only get stronger with time. Her mark holds her back but makes her a time bomb as well. Soon she'll explode."

"And you brought her here. What we're you thinking? That she needed help," he scoffed and I rolled my eyes.

"I thought of how much of a threat she'd be in the wrong hands then thought about a woman that does need direction. It's in the wind where this might go."

"You're dead if you're not careful," Homura warned me which I took to heart. Akitsu has the potential to become a god amongst mortals so I do have to be careful. She does have free will and thinking but this might only go so far.

"I appreciate the warning. I'm going to go check up on them." I pushed myself from the stove and walked out without anymore words. I didn't have much more to say. I could sense Akitsu as she was lead through the inn but stopped at my room. I slipped upstairs past Uzume's room to mine. I stopped at the opened door and leaned a bit to look inside. I saw Mutsu leaning on a wall while Akitsu looked around my room. She slid her hands across my bed and walked to my desk.

"It's not that simple you understand," Mutsu spoke as Akitsu wandered my room aimlessly almost.

"Yes," Akitsu answered as she opened one of my drawers inside. She reached in and took one of my shirts out. "Strange," she murmured. "You trust him… More than anyone."

"He's my ashikabi," Mutsu put simply.

"Its more," she declared as easily as Mutsu did for his response. Akitsu rose my shirt up to her nose for a moment then out it back.

"You don't remember do you? What's happen to you?" Mutsu muttered softly before he pushed off the wall. "We have one last room and that's…"

"I wish to stay here." Akitsu walked to the closet and opened it up to the clothes within and different weapons I stored within. Hate and Love on their respective sides of the twin doors hang low and calmly. I did forgo weapons today after all. Her hands slid across one of my swords.

"Why does he fight?" She asked but not to anyone.

"Because…" Mutsu left it at that. He doesn't understand truly why I fight and what I fight but knows that's it's for the good of the humanoid races of this world. I pulled myself up from the void more times than I like and still carry on. I'm tired of the system but it's all I know.

Mutsu turned away from the woman and walked to the door. "If you wish to talk I'll be on the porch… my old friend." With that he walked out the door and past me without even a glance. He didn't need to look at me for me to sense his internal struggle. Do all the single digits males know Akitsu on a near personal level with her as the uncertain. Old friend, he called her that. Homura called her an experiment. There's so much to this one female that had me curious.

I watched Akitsu as she looked around my room and took in the energy. She literally took in my energy into her body like plus to minus. Where I sleep I saturate in Od to keep the Boogeyman at bay and hide my sekirei. That creep of a Boogeyman has been hounding me for years and just because I was in the Shadows lands doesn't mean he forgot about me. I watched Akitsu reach up to one if the weapons in my closet and took it in hand. Her body blocked my sight of it so I relied on memory and how deep she reached into my closet. That has to be the chain within. The Manriki chain to be precise. I faintly used it during my time in Japan and mused at her selection.

Why a chain out of everything in that closet? It's weighted on both ends instead if the Samurai's sickle and chain. The Manriki was used more by shinobi of the past and today. I took that off an Genma Shinobi in Osaka and used it to crush the skull of his fellow. It was a good day.

Akitsu pulled the chain down and gazed upon it for a minute. Suddenly I watched her undo her obi and pull down her on her dōura until her chest popped out with her midnight bra on. Her took the chains in hand and worked the chains around her body strangely enough. I pulled the door open fully and stood puzzled at her current actions. What is she doing?

Akitsu, not even aware of my presence, wrapped the chain around her neck and let the weights fall between her breasts. She fiddled with the bra for a moment before finally pulling it off and tossing it away. She wrapped pulled her kimono back up and forced the weights through the sleeves. She attempted to fix herself but it didn't seem to work out well if that form fitting kimono of hers now forced to accommodate for those heavy and bulky chains.

I sighed and walked into the room as she struggled to the point that she almost ripped her clothes. "Here," I said and took hold of her shoulder. Akitsu didn't shake or shiver but opted to turn her head to the side to see who it was that grabbed her.

"Ah," she resounded before staring into my eyes like was becoming trendy today. "Otieno-sama," she greeted.

"Afternoon," I greeted her back. I looked down to her bare chest and the chains and frowned. "What are you trying to do with my chains?" I questioned.

Akitsu blinked and looked down at the chains as if comprehending my question and the subject of them. "Wear them," she put loosely.

"Wear them," I repeated and have nodded her head. I hummed and shrugged. "Very well, would you like some assistance?"

"Yes."

"I can do that then. First things first." I pulled her kimono down and open then pulled the chains off. I replaced her bra to her chest and clipped it in the back. "What do you want with these anyway?" I asked as I fixed her clothes and placed them back on her body. Instead of her obi I utilized the chains instead and wrapped them around her waist then her under breast. I let them flow upwards between her cleavage between the folds and around her next then back down her shoulders. The weights fell down about five feet from her hands to the floor so I gathered them up. I grabbed a few clips from my closet and clipped the weights to the links on her back.

"That will do for now. If you wish to use them as weapons reach behind you to let them go until you figure out a way to have them wrap around your arms or recede into your sleeves." I stepped back for her to test them.

Akitsu shook her body and pulled back on the chains until satisfied with the fit. She reached behind her to the clips and fiddled with them a bit but only for two minutes. She smiled a bit and bowed to me. "Thank you Otieno-sama," she said.

"It's no issue but why chains. Why take these out of everything?"

"Ah, I like them?" I rose an eyebrow at her weak answer but let it go. "They show… that I belong too you."

"Ahh," I nodded and let out a breath. She's desiring proof of her servantly nature towards me. I guess if that's what she wishes I won't disagree just as long as it doesn't prove to be more a detriment than advantage. The chains though will be nice touch in both defense and offense. I can imagine ice weighted attacks and chains of cold ice wrapped around limbs and weapons them shattering them with a strong uncaring palm. That's what I can see… that's what I want to see.

"Would you like to know how to use those?" Akitsu tilted her head to the side and looked perplexed so I clarified. "While I don't mind that you like the chains I would find it approving if you trained in their use. If you have a weapon might as well learn how it works. Do you agree?"

"Yes," she answered easily.

"Good," I said and took her hand in my own. "Let's take a step out." I took Love in hand and left her out my room and down the stairs to the back yard. He wave maybe ten minutes to get some instruction in before Innkeeper and Homura are finished. I lead Akitsu outside to the porch. Mutsu was outside resting and watched us as I lead her to the yard.

"Stand here." I stopped her in a spot and took five paces away from her. I drew my sword and undid my neck guard and coat. I tossed it away leaving me in my shirt and pants. I faced Akitsu with unshielded eyes and my sword at my said. I noticed a bit of apprehension coming off of her and shook my head. "Don't worry about me I've fought sekirei and beings even more powerful Akitsu so don't worry." I rose my sword and prepped for an attack.

"Those chains have weights at the ends meant to disarms or disable. Those can crush a man's skill or break a bone in one swing if used right and if you can combine that with your ice abilities you will be a true danger to your enemies and protector of your allies. Those are made for quick attacks and movements but I guarantee you can manage." I pointed towards the weights with my sword. "You spin them around over head or to the side and send them out to break and confuse with one and finish with the other. Give it a try."

Akitsu reached behind her and unclipped the chains and let the weights fall to the ground. She looked down and gripped the chains and rose her right arm. She swung her arm around literally with the weight and I rubbed my head. Akitsu stopped in once I did this and apologized to me. I waved it off and walked up to her. "Spin with you wrist not your arm." I took the chain and spun it around swiftly. Akitsu watched as I sent the weight out and it impacted with the tree and made a loud clunk noise. Akitsu watched a bit wide eyes as my simple use of the weight and chain. "Utilize the weigh to your advantage. Be swift and precise."

"Yes Otieno-sama."

"Good." I stepped back away from the woman. "Try again."

* * *

"Let's eat!" I heard from around the room from a smirking Uzume, disgruntled Mutsu, exasperated Homura, and a slightly giggling Innkeeper. Though I said nothing and sat a bit heated at this sudden turn of events with my manga book in hand as was my habit and ritual before and during these In meals. Uzume leered at me and the Innkeeper smiled at me with an expectation for me to fulfill. All eyes flowed towards me.

"Ah, let's eat," Akitsu spoke next albert softly and about twenty seconds after everyone else outside or myself and Kochō. The chains on her body clang softly with the raise of her fist and it's fall. Those are a nice addition I will admit making the woman deadlier than ever before.

I can't believe this is happening to me for the… fifth time to date. This has happened four consecutive times before today and it's my fault that we are subjected to such treatment. I'll be the first to admit that loud and obnoxious actions go against my personality and my fellow man in this room can attest to that. They don't like this any more than me but forced into this like me.

"Kochō, I believe I told you about the rules of items and objects at the dinner table today," Innkeeper smiled at my introvert of an Insight Sekirei who sighed heavily at the shots taken at her.

"Come on sis it's your turn," Uzume backed up the Innkeeper but both of them had eyes glued on me. I knew I was next in line for this just because I'm a bit forgetful of modern modified rules here at the Inn. The rule was added shortly after I began to read this terrible creative masterpiece known as manga to the table everyday. Uzume didn't like that same with the Innkeeper because it took away from our "social time" for me to break out of my shell. That's what they say but last I checked I don't have a shell so I'm confused still on what they meant.

"Fine," Kochō responded evenly and clenched her fist.

"Ah," Innkeeper stopped my sekirei before she could pay tribute plus praise to the food and dinner table gods in the form of an upward fist pump like the rest of them. "Put your phone away first."

Kochō bit her lip as her ears turned progressively red. This must be exceedingly embarrassing for her for she probably has more pride that I do and I'm a dragon. To lower hers poise towards so childish must be scaring in a way. Kochō relented in the end and slipped her phone away into her clothes and once more clenched her fists. She looked ready to cry but shot her first energetically in the air and cried, "Lets… eat!" with tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She lifted up a bit to say this, no scream this, like the rest of them which might have further threw her into dismay.

"Hhahaheheh," Uzume burst into hysterical laugher and hid her face into the pocket of her arm as she lost it. "Oh goddess I love my life hahah!"

"Quiet you… you hooligan!" Kochō resounded loudly at Uzume which only added fuel to the fire.

"Hooligan!? Oh goddess heheh who uses that now a days?" Homura even turned away with his shoulders quivering a bit. I believe Homura knows Kochō well just from way they seem to address one another audibly. Kochō looked to be ready to attack but I took her by the shoulder and hugged her to me to calm her down. She froze for a moment before she clenched the fabric of my shirt and buried her face into my chest. I pat her head and shook my head.

"Uzume do you have to bully her," I defended my new addition and Uzume happily nodded her head and said, "Of course." I shook my head at my heartless sekirei and waited for Kochō to calm down before letting her push herself off me back into her seat and wipe her eyes.

"Thank you Ashikabi-sama."

"Of course." I smiled at her and she nodded back at me.

"Well, that leaves you Otieno-kun." The Innkeeper grinned evilly at me as she said this. She's been waiting for this for weeks. The other times I've escaped because of business other than the first one. I've talked my way out of the others and stalled for a very long time to save myself like a selfish man like I am excels at. "You know the rule. No extras to the dinner table unless you want everyone, yourself included, to praise the… kitchen gods was it Uzume?" The innkeeper's tone was full of amusement and anticipation.

"That's right Miya it's even in the manga he read at the table that day." Uzume glared at me like a Cheshire cat.

My eye twitched a bit but I recovered a bit to prep my defense. "No defensive strategies today as well Otieno. Your clock has, as they say, **run out**." The Innkeeper spoke boldly. She would not listen to my input today it seems. I tried to respond but that purple aura and mask from before appeared behind her and put a frog in my throat.

Damn it. This can't be happening. I can't do this silliness again. I almos died the last time. My pride won't allow it. I'd rather die. I looked down at the knife on the table and found there to be no knives. There aren't utensils or chopsticks on the table. I looked up and found Uzume with a case of knifes, spoons, and forks in her lap. They planned this out? These daughters of bastards. I can't kill myself or injury myself in a way that I have to go to the ER like last time, even though I didn't go because I heal fast anyway. I need an escape so maybe a phone call.

"Just encase you got another idea to get an important phone call I might have bought a cell phone scrambler just so our dinner is… uninterrupted," the Innkeeper smiled at me. I gulped and clenched my fists. No way to injure myself, no phone use, and no way to talk my way out… I've been set up. No wonder Uzume showed me this new manga today after training Akitsu. She knew I'd get hooked on the story of this Ubel Blatt. It's good and interesting but oddly relatable as well. It was perfect. They staged this so set me up and now I'm helpless before every sekirei in this room.

"Ashikabi-sama," Kochō weakly took my hand in her own and I felt her feelings across the bond. She's pitying me for what I have to do but understands the coming pain I will suffer. She is giving me her support. I squeezed back and nodded my head. I need to accept this. I can't escape. The sooner I do this the better…. But I can't.

"Otieno-sama," I felt a cold hand on my left hand and drew my eyes towards Akitsu. She let a soft smile appear on her lips which supported me a bit more. "I believe… in you." My broken sekirei is showing me support right now. God this is insanity. It's just a couple words it shouldn't be anything to me. I took her hand as well and let the energy from the both of them take me. They know this will pain me but know I can do this and will help me once I fall into a coma from shock. Uzume is useless when her mischievous side appears same with the innkeeper's. I just need to do it.

I steeled myself and clenched my left fist hard. I could feel like bile rising up from my throat and my stomach sink into the abyss but held strong. "Oh snap he's gonna do it!" Uzume rose her phone up to record I'm guessing.

"Uzume put that away," I yelled at her with veal. This woman I swear I love her and hate her at the same time most days. Irritating little girl.

"Nope," she spoke out against my will.

"I hate you so much," I growled and she grinned.

"I know."

"Come on she has a phone out Innkeeper. We both know that's not allowed," I spoke out while pointing out at Uzume and her phone.

"True, but until you repent and until are in the right you can't speak out against the wrongs of others at **My** table," she reversed expertly. Uzume chuckled slyly at me and my failed misdirection tactic. I sat down in my seat and looked down. I can't admit defeat yet but I don't see a way out of this where I come on top unless god comes and saves me. That won't happen.

"Now," the Innkeeper's eyes pierced through me. "Proceed please."

I felt my life leave my body. Today is the day I lose my pride and consequently my life. Well I had a good run I can admit that. I clenched my fist ready to enter the void. At least while I'm dead I won't have to suffer the embarrassment of being laughed at by my third and most compassionate Sekirei, and I say compassionate with all the sarcasm in the world.

Just as I lifted my fist half way the bell rang, **DING DONG** , in our ears. I blinked and shot up to my feet. "Well looks like someone's at the door. I better go check since it's to be my turn today," I said swiftly.

"What. Hell no you can't! We had you!" Uzume roared at me. "Miya do something!" The Innkeeper bit her lip as this and I smirked at her this time. According to the rules that were made in place because a lot of people start showing up at the inn we have to take turns answering the door despite whatever we might be doing at the moment. It's my turn and while I should pay my punishment I have to stop what I'm doing in the middle of my action to answer the door, and once I leave the table My Punishment is reset, but I don't get to eat once I do leave. 8 hours until breakfast compared to dying here, there is no contest. The Innkeeper knew this and I thanked the gods above for this escape. Thank god for loopholes and rules that can contradict each other.

"Let's go Akitsu," I proudly announced with her hand in mine to skip merrily away. Not really skip but I did walk way victorious with my chest out and ignored the curses from Uzume.

"Yes Otieno-sama,"

"I'll follow you," Kochō resounded and appeared behind me.

"I going to make ice," Homura made a lamely excuse to leave as well.

"I'll help him make ice," Mutsu groaned and left the table a well. I couldn't blame them because past the corner I saw a mask staring at me. It was saying "you escaped today but next time…" and I shivered. That mask thing is strange and unnerving. I can't blame everyone for leaving instead of staying to eat and suffer starving until tomorrow morning for leaving the table. They can return but why come back to a table of food you can't eat?

"Ehhhh, Miya no! It wasn't my fault!" I heard an angel cry. Kochō hugged close to my back and I made my way to the door to answer it. I'm literally going to kiss the man on the other side of that door for this save.

I opened the door feeling on top of the world only to come right back down.

"Yo," the man on the other side greeted me with a wave. I checked my watch and it was five past seven right now. What is he didn't here at this time and… with his entourage.

"Hello Hikari, Hibiki," I greeted the twins from my past and they winced and hid behind their Ashikabi. I've seen them from time to time and greeted them at maid Café's, restaurants, one gentlemen club, and a casino trying to help their ruffian of an Ashikabi make rent and the occasional bail.

"God Seo why do you come here all the time? You know he's turns you away more than often," Hikari spat at me and I narrowly glared at her. She yelped and hid behind her sister how hid behind Seo.

"Because he pays well when he does like my ideas," the man grinned at me with his hand out. "I see you got some nice additions too eh man?" Seo examined my new additions a little too closely. I rolled my eyes and shook his hand regardless of my thoughts of him. I do provide him a lot of work and he's assisted my clean up crew more times than I'd like but he does good work. I do pay him well for his services as well.

"So man where's your "Fallen Angel'," he looked around and in the Inn jokingly knowing that Karasuba isn't here.

"For your sake on the other side if the planet. What do you want?" I crossed my arms at the man and he smirked at me.

"To help you escape for one," he lifted his chin and I rose a brow until I felt Kochō clench further into my back. I glanced back and there it was. The mask and the woman behind it glaring at me.

"I bet your hungry as well," he took note of from the smell of the food within and must have realized he came at the right time being why I didn't just close the door on his face like last time. "Wanna head out?"

"Seo no this guy is crazy!"

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"It'll be fine," Seo waved off the worries of his two. "He owes me, don't you?"

I bit my lip and nodded. "Very well. Mutsu, Homura, you both coming too?" I looked up to Mutsu on the roof like the ninja he is and to my left at Homura leaning on the open window of his room.

"Sure," Mutsu muttered and dropped down next to me. Homura grabbed his coat and walked away and came from the side of the house a moment later ready to go. We all faced the trio. "Let's go," Mutsu spoke to the three and Seo smiled.

"Awesome. You're buying," he pat my shoulder and walked off. My sekirei and Homura followed him when I get them the wave to go. I looked back in last time and smiled, grabbed my coat, and bowed mockingly before closing the door behind me.

My luck indeed.

I caught up swiftly and we came to a stop at a bus stop. "So what do you have planned now Seo," I asked the man.

"I wish to know as well," Mutsu supplemented.

"Well that depends on you and your… first," he worded carefully for the few with us that don't know that Karasuba is my first. Homura doesn't know per my wishes towards Takami, threat towards Matsu through her camera in the bathroom, and same with Akitsu. I can't tell her because I'm sill uncertain of her. Might say it out of nowhere and blow everything away.

"First," Homura drew his eyes towards Mutsu.

"Don't bother," he said quickly and crushed that question into pieces. "As for that I wouldn't worry Seo."

"That's good. It pertains to a few sekirei being released right now and certain… individuals of interest I've been asked to keep an eye on, if you catch my drift."

"What do you mean?" Mutsu questioned and I let him take control of the conversation. He's been doing it for months now so what makes today any different?

"A kid I know might be in some trouble and was asked to keep an eye on him but… I've sort of got preoccupied a few times heheh," the ruffian chuckled lightly. Basically got into some deep crap that pulled him from his normal tasks. Idiots like him I swear.

The bus came moments later and we stepped on. I dropped the driver a bill and sat down with Mutsu next to me. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited as we road the bus strangely out if my area to the East which is controlled by Higa Conglomerate. That's where the colleges are outside of Tokyo University. Why are we heading that way. The bus stopped suddenly to pick someone up. As they stepped on I knew right off they were Sekirei. The Miko outfit and large nagimata was the big enough giveaway without need of my spirit sight. The woman stopped once she spied Mutsu, Kochō, Akitsu and her brand, and finally the twins. Ones she knew.

"You!" the sekirei pointed her spear towards the twins with fury racing through her body. "You vile villains who would attack unwinged sekirei!"

"Oh hell its her," Hikari sighed which only fueled the fire in the other sekirei. The sekirei gripped her blade and looked ready to attack until I stood up and stared down the woman. I don't have my swords still but this sekirei quickly backed away from me as walked up to her. The bus drive stood up I glanced his way once and he sat down

"While I know what those two did is disgraceful its best you don't start a battle on a bus. Do you understand?" I questioned the sekirei of maybe the 60's of not higher.

"You defend them and…"

"Of course not but that will be taken care of." I glanced back and the twins winced. "For now take a seat and let's ride to our destinations." The sekirei glared at me for a moment before she pulled her spear up and slammed the butt on the bus floor.

"Very well," she relented. "You are a strange man but feel your word is solid. I shall abstain from course actions for now but next time I will terminate them."

"I'm fine with that." I turned back and took my seat next to Mutsu once more. The sekirei sat down in the very front with us taking up most of the middle and rear.

"Ever the peace keeper," Mutsu muttered.

"I try."

The bus ride was a bit tense with the sekirei in the front mostly sending death glares the twins way but both of them aren't going to do anything. They both know what I'll do to them if I see them assault an unwinged sekirei without provocation. The sekirei examined myself as well as the sekirei with me. It's not hard for her to see that while I mean her no harm that if she didn't take untoward action towards me she would be terminated swiftly by either Mutsu or Akitsu. She seemed to recognize the scrapped number right off the bat and stared at her a bit. If Akitsu noticed she didn't show it.

She looked upon Seo for a moment before moving on and coming back to me. I turned my sight towards her if she did and quickly she'd look away, slightly flustered. I narrowed my eyes at her and her spirit chains. Mine branched out towards Mutsu, Kochō, Uzume, and Karasuba respectively but those were the solid chain. My transparent chains fired every which way as proof that I can bond with many more sekirei in this game but I refused many of them already. I don't need them and their power aren't interesting enough. Naivety plays a part in this as well. The Sekirei by my side are intelligent and know this game is more than survival of the fittest. Most of this children don't. This one is included. I can see a chain between her and I and I can see us together… in a different life but not this one. I saw two other chains connected to her and we are coincidentally moving towards one.

"Excuse me," the sekirei spoke out and I broke my spirit sight. She moved a bit closer to me just being on seat away other than five. Her gaze was focused on me and full of curiosity.

"Yes," I answered her.

"You..." she looked around me. "You're an ashikabi correct?" The woman is rather blunt but that's a good thing.

"That correct. My Sekirei are Mutsu, Kochō, and Akitsu." I pointed them out individually. Mutsu nodded to the younger sekirei, Kochō bowed her head and the other sekirei returned it, and Akitsu just stared at her. "Kagari," I pointed towards Homura, "Isn't my sekirei but a good friend of mine. The twins belong to him," I pointed at Seo who waved at the sekirei with a lecherous stare. "My name is Otieno. Otieno D. Jäger." I rose my hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

The woman rose her hand and took mine. As if electricity flowed through us I felt the chain solidify a bit at our touch. The woman bit her lip and nodded as we shook hands.

"I am Kaho. Sekirei number 87. The pleasure is mine to meet a man like you with honor and respect."

"I appreciate that. I'm assuming your still looking for your ashikabi?"

"Ah," she rubbed her eyes suddenly. "Y-Yes I am. It's been only a couple days since my release but I'm confident that my search is near it's end." She examined my features in a way that earned a glare from Kochō and Mutsu. "I feel my ashikabi will be honorable with a firm sense of justice."

I smiled on the inside at that. That's not me in anyway. In my day my sense of justice was to kill a man if he stole from me and now a days that murder. "I see him as strong and caring as well. Motivating me so we can win together and reach the heavens above hand in hand."

"That means you'd have to be the last one standing right?"

"That's right. I will win to make this a reality."

"Then you do realize that means you and I will be on opposite side and you would have to overcome not only myself but also my sekirei?" Mutsu hummed at this and Akitsu narrowed her eyes at Kaho as I finished my input. Kaho appeared shocked at my words and opened her mouth to respond but I shook my head. "Its fine Kaho you don't need to defend yourself. I was only kidding. I don't plan to fight you or anyone. Your not my enemy. If anything I wish to protect you and the rest of your species. All of you are beautiful and priceless gems I'd hate to have to see destroyed for no reason."

"I'll ensure I won't let Uzume know you said that about someone other than her," Mutsu said with his arms crossed over his chest. "You know how she gets same with Nightingale." I winced a bit at the two of them. How alike and different they are towards me. The similarities are what unsettle me.

"Jäger I've been meaning to ask you something about the game that Minaka has going on," Homura shook out before I could respond to Mutsu. "You said you want to keep us safe so why not kill Minaka and stop the game? I know you can I've seen you work."

"Its not that easy," I responded.

"Why not?"

"Because," Mutsu spoke for me and turned to face the fire sekirei. "There's a darkness lurking and the deep recesses of this city and the world that want us and desire our hearts for their own ends. I've seen it in the past but didn't believe it until months ago where he showed me the true darkness this world." Mutsu opened his eyes and his aura bolstered in a way that made the bus and the metal creak under the pressure. "Your internal plight is minuscule compared to the enemy he currently fights to keep you and the rest of us safe." I placed a hand on Mutsu's shoulder and his power receded back to his core. His power has grown significantly after all he's the most powerful of my sekirei and it shows. Karasuba is my second but that might change in time.

"What threat?" Seo was the one that asked this time.

"Work with me and you'll see," I said to the man. Mutsu took a breath and sat back down with his arms crossed and took his resting pose again. I pat his shoulder to help him calm down. "I'm fine," he said and just looked at him. Mutsu opened an eye at me then let out a breath. "I'll be fine." I accepted his answer this time with my hand on his leg. His hand let his chest and rested on top of mine. "I didn't mean to lose control like that. I'm sorry."

"Its fine."

"You both have a close relationship," Kaho noted with her head tilted a bit to the side.

"We're partners and Mutsu has been with me since the beginning. I trust him more than I trust myself."

"Same for me. I'd follow him into the pit for a good reason and yank him back if not." Mutsu jested like he rarely does.

The bus suddenly came to a stop and Seo stood up. "We get off here." I stood up along with everyone else on the bus and we all talked off together. We stopped in the middle of the college portion of the town. I can tell with all the children walking around us. I looked around with my spirit sight and spied on boy that got my attention. Reason being is because of an aura residing in his body the others around him don't have.

"Now," I broke my spirit sense at Seo's interruption. "Lets hit one of the college bars and get some food then I can tell you about the kid and the job."

"I'm guessing that kid as you put it is above average-height and slim, with messy black hair, and gray eyes." I listed off the features of one boy with a chain, a single chain, attached to his aura.

"Yeah something like that. How'd you know?" Seo asked and I pointed at the kid I described sitting alone on a bench with a book in hand reading under a lamp. "Damn that's him. Okay I'm supposed to be…" I rose a hand to the man.

"I'm going to talk to him. Kaho can you follow me please and everyone else… go get some food. Mutsu handle this for me."

"Right. Kochō can you find a place to eat?"

"Gladly," she sighed.

"Wait," Seo ran in front of me. "What do you plan on doing?" I placed a hand on Seo's shoulder and past by him. "Wait, I need answers!"

"Leave it," Homura said. "Once he sets his mind to something stopping him will only hurt you in the end."

Kaho actually did follow me as I approached the young man. The young man saw me coming towards his direction but I don't think he knows he's my target. He dug himself into his book until I stepped right in front of him. I cleared my throat and he looked up nervously as I loomed over him.

"Uh, hi?" He greeted me weakly and I opted to look into him. Nice aura and a bit of Od as well though it doesn't feel natural. Not human natural that is.

"Evening. Mind if I sit next to you?" I gestured to the empty spot next to him.

"N-no," the boy stuttered. "I don't." I smiled and sat down next to him with Kaho standing behind the bench looking between us both. We sat in awkward silence until the boy broke it with a cough. "Uh I'm Sahashi. Sahashi Minato," he greeted me with his hand out.

"Sahashi?" I narrowed my eyes at the boy at his facial features and picked them apart. I took a whiff of his scent and the blood on his finger. He cut himself today I'm guessing and that scent is intoxicating. This boy is the son of Takami. Takami and another… my eyes widened at I examined his facial features, hair, and his eyes. Almost the splitting image of Minaka. I knew it.

"Pleased to meet you Minato. I'm Jäger d. Otieno. A bit new to Japan but getting used to it."

"Oh really," he seemed curious now. "Your Japanese is really good… I mean for a Foreigner… I'm mean it's good for someone like you… I mean…" I chuckled a bit and shook my head at the boy. He's Minaka's offspring that's for sure. Man trips over words or himself in one way or another. My to think I'd meet their son.

"Tell me Minato what are you doing reading under a lamp at eight at night?"

"Oh, well the library is closed and I have to study for my exams to Tokyo U and the electric company for my current apartment building went out of business so I don't have power there. My exams are close to so I have to get as much time in studying as I can."

"School is obviously important to you and you strive despite poor situations. That's commendable Minato and I'm sure your mother is proud of you when she's not about to rip you a new one."

Minato chuckled with flushed cheeks at my praise. "Thanks. I know my mom will blast me if I fail again. How did you know my mom would do that though?"

"Oh, I know your mother really."

"Really? How?"

"Well she interrogated me, tried to crack a clipboard over my head, and is obsessed with Gene therapy."

Minato sighed. "That's my mom alright. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't apologize it's been resolved. I'm surprised to meet her son though. How's your father doing by the way?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I never met him."

I nodded. "I see. Well regardless of situation I'd like to help you out a bit with your issue being why I brought a friend."

"Oh, you don't need to help me I can…"

"I'm not helping you I'm giving you a job." I reached into my pocket and pulled out my card for Yami Café. "I know your intelligent and if your studying Intermediate Analysis at your age you are nearing a genius." I pointed at the book in his hands.

"I'm not that good. I failed my tests once already quite terribly."

"That's because you have no self confidence and you get nervous too easily. You have a hard time against adversity. That's why I want to hire you to handle my numbers for me cause you see I'm a business man and in need of people to trust. I can tell you're a hard-working young man with potential and worth trusting." Minato flushed a bit more from praise and listened to me intently. I gave him a mix of praise and criticism to keep him interested and finally to finish the sell. "I am offering you a job to help pay for college, to improve your temperament so you can tackle your tests effortlessly, and all round become a stronger morn effective young man. One that even your mother can't question. How does that sound?"

"Ah, pretty good actually but what would I have to do?"

"Call the number on this card if you accept my proposition." I handed the boy my card and he took it gently from my hand.

"Okay," he nodded his head.

"Kaho can you assist my friend here?"

"Me? What can I do?"

"Talk to him for one." I climbed to my feet and stared at the chain between the two of them. It was growing weaker and weaker with my presence but this is a good test. He has potential but it must be realized. This boy… will be a good guinea pig for my tests on sekirei and bonding. Even more so if he can work for me. I'd have an edge on his parents then. I pat the spot on the bench and guided Kaho to sit.

"Wait. Your leaving her with me. But…"

I smirked at the both of them and turned to leave. "Get to know each other a bit I'm sure you'll see you both have a lot in common." I waved back and walked away.

I broke character and let that make fall once out of sight. I walked to the corner of a building and turned. I stepped to the right past someone standing at the corner and continued on. The person followed behind me and took to my side.

"You were watching the entire time I assume?" I asked my little spy

"Ah, sorry." I felt the Ice sekirei shy back from me but I waved it off. I don't mind and I got what I wanted from this. Seo failed to watch the boy and he's nearly homeless. I can tell he wants to be independent but has a hard time breaking away. I can't wait to work with him. With a sekirei supplied to him that likes me, the seeds of doubt planted in his mind, and the desire to succeed looming overhead it'll be only a matter of time before he calls.

Only a matter of time.

"Anyway. Let see to the ruffian and his job. I owe him my life after all."

"Yes Otieno-sama."

* * *

A/N: Ahh Ol' Minato. You know I liked him and his part in canon. He always seemed more side characterish than most main characters in anime but shrugged and watched his tale. I was told to incorporate him which was my plan but change will come to those that dwell too close to the abyss. Thanks for reading and please review.


	13. Falling From Grace

Chapter 13: Falling From Grace

* * *

It's always the same no matter the day or the time. Even though they've been together for four months now nothing has changed about them. No matter what she's done and how long she's pried, played, poked, and prodded nothing came out of it. He plays her probably better than she does him. Thinking back on it he's never told her anything that could prove consequential to him. He told her that he's killed and was an assassin. He's shown that he can fight after all she's seen him train every other morning. He's matched big brother blow for blow even and for a human it seems almost impossible for any human to do. Then again even now she's not sure if he's fully human though he has to be. Only a human of a set age, strong enough body, and has the intestinal will to sustain multiple consciousness within his mind and body can be an ashikabi. He is by far the most powerful ashikabi in the world to have Mutsu and herself and that other one he never mentions.

Uzume sighed as she sat quietly at the dinner table. Her ploy to get him to open up a well as shift had failed. His luck yet again allowed him to pull through and escape before he could say just two little words that would turn his world upside down. Uzume believed that if he did this he'd change and finally work with her but maybe the goddess doesn't want her to be truly contempt with her ashikabi as well as what he does. She can remember following her ashikabi for many nights only for her to lose him time and time again. He knows that she was following him and he and big bro dodged and evaded her every time. He sometimes comes back with injuries same with big bro and sadly that's all she knows. They go out, they do something, they come back, and then they rest. She tried to find out more and what she was told left her a bit baffled. He's a crime boss now and in just a short time. Normally in movies it takes years but not in this regard. He did it in months.

How can she take this in? Her ashikabi isn't a bad guy. He's actually a very patient, kind, understanding, and selfless man to not only her but to their precious Chiho. He's done more for her in days versus what she'd done in weeks. It's… unheard of. His abilities are strange as well. He's strong, fast, sexy, has money and can get more, very kinky, and the best hope Chiho has as getting healthy. His "magic" as she calls is but Uzume hasn't seen anything of the sort. Magic doesn't exist only people just like god doesn't exist. Chiho believes in it and if it helps, right? Uzume thought back to the purpose as a sekirei and how her reaction came the disappeared only for it to return with a vengeance for him. He needed her and she knew that. She needs him but… sometimes she feels like a figure than a person he wants or desires. She may be a bigger girl, but she's got brain as well. She can see how he looks at her versus his other sekirei. He needs big brother Mutsu almost every day for everything but not her. He needs glasses even for computer stuff but not her. He wanted the Broken Sekirei because of her "potential" but not her. He needs the other one for god knows what, but not her.

Uzume snort and rose her hand to her eyes. She's sick of his. Every time she comes to this conclusion this happens. Her heart… it breaks. "He doesn't need me…" Uzume sobbed to herself. He needs Chiho more than he needs her. "He's leaving me behind," cried and felt the wetness form around her eyes. Just like she feared he would. He even left her here with Miya and took the rest with him, even that stick in the mud Homura. He's not even Otieno's sekirei and they spend so much crucial time with each other. Sure, Uzume has him during the day time and they "hang out" a bit. They play games, watch anime together, relax in the tug and decompress, visit Chiho, go out shopping like today, and sometimes even go on trips in other countries when she asked. Those moments are so nice and pleasant but that is were the problem lies. He does the same with everyone else. He relaxes on the patio with Mutsu and they talk, drink tea with Miya, and relax in each other's presence. He's never relaxed when he's with her almost as if afraid of what he might do. Everything feels fabricated to suit her but that's not right. Uzume wasn't to see the real him not what she wants to see from him. Mutsu knows him better than her and even Chiho knows so many stories about him he's never shared with her.

"It's. Not. Fair." Uzume grit her teeth. Why does everyone see him for what he is but her? Why does he keep his "real" life a secret from her? Why does he spend most of his night out doing god knows what? Why is she lied to or evaded when she asks questions? Why is she left behind all the time?

"He believes he's protecting you," Uzume heard an almost motherly voice before her and glanced through the cracks of her hand still shielding over her eyes. Miya was standing at the other end of the table after watching Otieno and the rest leave. She's probably as unhappy with how things went as Uzume is but regardless it happened, and she accepts that. But Uzume doesn't. Every time she tries she ends up with less than before and this time literally when he left her to go out for the night. Uzume thought back to Miya's words though and shook her head. What could he be protecting her from.

"Uzume," Miya walked around the table and sat down next to her with gently and slightly understanding and sympathetic eyes on her. "Jäger he… He's the sort of man that's selfish for what he believes are the right reasons." Uzume looked perplex for a moment and turned her eyes towards Miya. The woman reached up and took her hand which was resting on the table. Uzume though didn't understand what Miya meant that well. How can being selfish be right in anyway?

"Uzume he believes that the secrets he holds would be too much for you and an unnecessary burden on your shoulders." Miya looked down for a moment and allowed a sad smile to curse her lips. Uzume let her hand drop and squeezed back.

"Miya, I'm not sure what to do. I… I deserve to know. He's my ashikabi and I'm his sekirei. I thought we're supposed to be open with each other," Uzume stated the simple truth she was led to believe for years.

"Takahito and Jäger… they are alike in that regard. Even with me he didn't tell me everything. He wanted to protect me even though I'm much stronger than him. Maybe that's why they didn't say anything to us."

"That's doesn't make any sense," Uzume denounced Miya's words and took her hand back away from her.

"Doesn't it," Miya looked back at Uzume with a sense of tiredness that seemed almost foreign in her mind. Miya doesn't do tired but maybe this was serious enough for her to let a wall down or two. "You're one of the strongest of my sekirei released Uzume. You love hard and care harder than most, but even the hardest stone once cracked and break into thousands of pieces. Because your strong some truths might destroy you in ways you could never imagine. That's what I mean."

Uzume thought about it for a moment and found it almost insane but it did sort of make sense.

"And men like him are selfish with their burdens and lightly do they share them with those they feel can't handle it."

"But Mutsu-nii can handle it," Uzume said bitterly with her fists clenched. "Even Kocho is being allowed into his system and she's been around for not even a day," she spat to the side. "Hell, Akitsu was training with him today. I've never trained with him before. That's not fair."

"It never is," Miya sighed as she placed a gentle hand on Uzume's shoulder. "But they are not you and that's what worries him."

"He's only worried I won't be his "Angel" anymore," Uzume scoffed.

"Don't think that way. He cares about you Uzume trust me. He'd sacrifice himself for you I'm sure if given the choice."

"I want… no I need more than protection, gifts, time, and all these material things Miya. You know this," Uzume met the number one's eyes and a sad smile of her own. "I need to understand my ashikabi. If not… I hurt."

"I know," she said understandably. "He lies…"

"He's never lied to me Miya," she defended my ashikabi instantly. "Not once has he lied to me," Uzume repeated again and scoffed. "But that doesn't mean he hasn't told me everything as well. He never tells me anything and evades the questions when I ask hard ones," Uzume chuckled a bit and Miya felt for her sekirei. While it is unfair that Uzume has suffered from Jäger's negligence and nature Miya does understand just from their interactions that he thinks highly of his Veil sekirei. If anything were to happen to her whomever were to blame Jäger would ravage them. He would hunt them down then rip their world apart.

"You know Uzume, he asked me if I desired to spar with him about a week ago?" Miya said expecting to see an expression of shock and wonder from the veil sekirei. "Wha!" And Miya wasn't disappointed from the looks of total disbelief she saw within her sekirei's eyes. Of course she's surprised after all it was him that's been delaying the spar for months. Miya was the first to approach the man for small spar and the man rejected her without hesitation. Told her that a bout between the both of them would be a waste of time and as well as energy. A man that loves to fight powerful beings said no to maybe the most powerful being on the planet. Miya has teased and mocked him for a while but still Uzume couldn't believe it.

"He challenged you," Uzume spoke aghast from what she heard, and Miya nodded lightly.

"And I turned him down."

"Wha!?" Uzume's jaw dropped further. "Y-you rejected him after so much time?"

"I know," Miya giggled.

"But you've been trying for so long."

"I know."

"Then why did you reject him?"

"Because… his reasons weren't sound." Miya stated delicately and Uzume looked at her. Miya thought on what to say next to elucidate clearly what she meant. "It falls along the reasons why he doesn't tell you about… his other business. It was because he wanted something to test and I'm much better than that. Being a part of his experiment."

"What experiment," Uzume muttered to herself. "And what do you mean that his reasons are unsound?"

"Uzume ask him once he gets back." Miya stood up with her plate in hand and looked out to the rest of the untouched plates of food on the table. "Such a waste," she mockingly sobbed with a light smile on her lips. "But he escaped this time and probably the time after that and after that. Maybe it'll be best if we wait for him to open up," Miya suggested and Uzume felt a little hope with that. She's tried everything to get him to open up except wait for him to come to her. If him and Takehito are almost the same then maybe Miya knows what she's talking about. Uzume smiled but then her smile faded the moment Miya's did and the room turned a shade darker. "Then again," Miya continued. "Men like him don't say a thing until its too late." Miya bit her lip with her plate trembling a bit. "Takehito ended up leaving me when it was too late for him."

"Then maybe this is doomed to fail," Uzume sighed. "He needs me more physically than anything," Uzume announced loudly with a loud "Ha" at that end. "I still wonder what else there is that Mutsu and him refuse to tell me. I bet he has like two other sekirei hidden away that he won't tell me about and Matsu won't cross him," Uzume yelled just so the sekirei in hiding could hear her. He's known about her since the very first day he got her probably. She was suspicious of his knowledge but maybe she underestimated him. He knows more than he lets on. Uzume always wondered why Matsu seemed to be very "forgetful" or "hard of hearing" whenever Otieno came up. She wouldn't put it past him if he threatened the red head or something. Matsu's been quiet as of late. Uzume actually went to talk to her only for Matsu not answer. She never "not answers" at anytime. What changed now?

"Miya, what should I do?" Uzume begged for some sort advice from the number one.

"Follow your heart and as an ashikabi he'll follow."

"And if he can willingly shut you out."

Now this was news to Miya. Never before has she every heard of an ashikabi shutting out a sekirei. It's impossible to shut out the bond. It's a bond between souls and you can't control a soul. Then again this is Jäger they're talking about. He has a tendency of defying expectation and surpassing human boundaries. There's also the fact that he holds Artifacts she thought long lost. That key being one of them. How he acquired it and how he survived its usage is beyond human capabilities. He can't use it unless… Miya let that thought drop and sighed. If he's capable of using a soul shattering weapon and wear a world cracking artifact controlling a soul bond is probably second nature to him just from exposures. That thing he calls the Black Blade being one humans shouldn't use.

"IF," Miya strongly worded. "If he can shut you out then the possibilities are endless of what he can do with the bond. Maybe," Miya looked up in thought. "Maybe…" With that Miya walked off with her plate leaving Uzume both confused and uncertain.

"What the hell?" Uzume shook her head. She thought that may Miya could help her but she's left to find out for herself. Miya was doing fine until she brought up the fact that he can manipulate the bond. A couple times already she's panicked when she could no longer sense her ashikabi on four separate occasions she can think of. It was probably more than that but three came to mind.

The first time it happened she could feel a dark emotion within her ashikabi that frightened her. He cut her off and she nearly charged the city to find him only for him and Mutsu to show up bloody and not happy. Uzume demanded to know what happened only for them to respond with "just a little trouble" which didn't help.

The second time she felt panic and shame. It made her feel like holding her Ashikabi and telling him that she loves him. He cut her off and came back tired with Homura instead. He asked to be left to "figure things out" along in his room which meant he wanted to be left alone for an undisclosed amount of time. It's made her a bit anxious on what might have happened because he's strong. She not used to feeling anything let alone… loss from her ashikabi.

The third time came with a nightmare. She was looking though the eyes someone that killed mercilessly. He slaughtered dozens in unspeakable and creative ways until he was stopped. Pain erupted in her back, then her sides, then in her stomach, and again in her back. The agony… it was terrible, and she wanted to cry, to beg, to scream, but she could only watch as man with a spear walk towards her. She saw a ghastly smile on his lips as he spoke a language she couldn't understand. Then pointed the spear at her chest at her heart. Before it could rend through her she woke up. She felt immense pain and strife and shot up from her bed to come for him until she was cut off again. She couldn't find him and she searched for hours. He found her instead and escorted her back. She couldn't ask him anything… he felt dead on the inside and this was through his eyes not the bond.

Uzume let out a sharp breath from whatever she saw and shivered a bit. He protected her from most of what he felt and experienced. If she felt the rest of what he had she could only imagine the pain and fear she'd be experiencing right now. Maybe that's what he's fighting against, but what could've caused something like that? To know will hurt but not knowing despite seeing, feeling, and touching all of this is even worse.

"I need answers, now." Uzume declared to herself and only one person came to mind. One person who out turn too to get those answers and she's upstairs right now in her room.

Uzume looked down to her food and scarfed it down before standing up to her feet and marching upstairs towards Matsu's room. Miya noticed the Uzume as she past by the kitchen on her way to the stairs. Though Miya was tempted to stop her Uzume looked to be on a mission so Miya left well enough alone… For now.

"Matsu," Uzume smacked the hidden door a couple times already without an answer. "Matsu damn it! Open up. You've been avoiding me and my questions for too damn long! Open up." Uzume knocked again and stepped back with her arms crossed under her breast. "Matsu, why are you running away from him. You haven't truly met the man." Uzume pressed again for the computer nerd to open up though she'd never say that to her face. Uzume knows that Matsu has something against her ashikabi to the point that Matsu has practically become a ghost in the months that past. She's avoid him at every turn even though we both know that he knows she's here. Jäger is anything but unaware of the presences of others around him. It comes with that "spirit awareness" he'd mention so of course he knows, but he's done nothing to her at all. Heck he helped her up once Matsu purposely rammed into him earlier today. 'Like, seriously, what is her deal?' Uzume thought to herself.

"Why are you afraid of him?" Uzume demanded with on last knock but it was more like a punch that made the hidden door quiver.

"Because," a muffled voice from behind the door shouted.

The door suddenly swung open. A pungent odor filled Uzume's nose and made her cover her nose and shy back. "God Matsu," Uzume coughed. "When's the last time you showered? Like a month ago?"

"Uh, like yesterday I think."

Uzume blinked and focused her tearing up eyes on her old friend but it was hard. The smell was bad and whatever she was burning in there made her eyes water a bit. Despite this Uzume blinked away the tears to look upon her friend to see what was with her. Her clothing was a bit haggard and the smell of sweat and something else filled the area around her. Matsu looked to be exhausted as well. They both saw her earlier today with books out and about like an idiot for some reason and looked okay before but now… her face was cherry read and looked ready to pass out from exhaustion.

"Uh," Uzume paused for a moment to take all this in. "Matsu, what happened to you today? And where are you glasses?"

Matsu blinked a couple times without her glasses on and she goes nowhere without her glasses. Matsu reached up to her face and felt around from her chin up to her forehead for her glasses. "Huh," Matsu grunted truly perplexed from her glassesless state. "I guess inside," Matsu looked behind her into her room and Uzume leaned to the side to see what was on the screens within.

"Ah no!" Matsu jumped up to block her sight but Uzume is tall enough to spot something. Something familiar on the screen. It was familiar because the state of dress as well as the face was very close to what is one a certain man she knew.

"Matsu…?" Uzume questioned only for the girl to laughed nervously.

"Ufufufu I-I can explain everything."

"Okay?" Uzume let her two fingers fall from her nose and groaned from the smell nearly radiating off of her. "Why are you looking at a video of Otieno," Uzume questioned her. "If you're afraid him why are you looking at a video…"

"Ah."

Uzume looked take back from the sudden moan? Matsu moaned just now then chuckled again. Uzume looked down and spotted something very strange. Not only is she a bit wet down there Uzume noticed a hand that belongs to her at a certain area and fingering it. "Are you masturbating to a video of my ashikabi… that you took today!?"

"Uh, well… I.. You see what happened was that I wanted to meet him and I sort of did as you saw ufufu." Matsu cleared her throat and sighed.

"Can you stop that," Uzume walked up to Matsu and pulled her hand away from her crotch and pulled the woman back to get a better look at her screens.

"S-sorry. I… I can't help it. I tried to Uzume I swear I tried. I just wanted to see him in the flesh and when I did execute the plan to bump into him to see what he would do when we touched it was like… like a fire was in my stomach," Matsu groaned and looked a bit weak in knees.

"Whoa," Uzume shot underneath Matsu before she could fall over and kept her up on her feet. "I gotcha. I gotcha. Come on you need some food."

"Uh, y-yeah." Matsu admitted weakly and allowed Uzume to lead her down. "Matsu is sorry Uzu-tan. Matsu didn't want to but…"

"I know," Uzume sighed as she assisted her friend down the stairs. "Honestly with all that talk that was brought up earlier I couldn't help but wonder. That Kochō made a good point about connections and sekirei that he's compatible with. I would've never imagine you…" Uzume stopped and refused to finish. That thought of it was crazy and impossible in her mind for the longest time.

"Reacting to your ashikabi," Matsu finished for her which only made it that much harder to swallow. "One that Matsu had avoided for so long. One that will more than likely reject me because he hates Matsu." Matsu groaned. "It got worse once we met and we touched. I felt him… He's powerful to attract Mutsu, you, and her."

"Who. Who else? I know he has another before maybe Mutsu-nii or me. Who else?" Uzume demanded but Matsu shook her head.

"Matsu knows if I tell you anything he will hurt me Uzu-tan. Don't ask why," Matsu said right before Uzume was about to voice her line of questions.

Matsu remembers it well. The second day he got here, that man, whatever he is, looked into one of her hidden cameras and said if anything about him she discovered crossed Uzume's or Miya's ears he'd personally turn her into meat and there's nothing no one could do. Even Mutsu spoke to her to keep her mouth shut else he'd look away while his ashikabi took care of business. While the General wasn't one of her favorite people and the feeling is mutual. Can't believe he'd chose his man over her.

"So he has another sekirei I don't know about but everyone else does, as usual." Uzume stated solemnly.

"Matsu's sorry Uzume he… He's exceptionally protective of you and what you know."

"It's not up to him, you, or anyone else of what I should know!" Uzume hissed from behind grit teeth.

"Then why are you asking us if it's truly up to you?" Matsu returned exhaustedly surprising Uzume. A response that sharp is very… strange to hear from the less than overly erotic sekirei. Matsu seemed to blink in shock as well and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I've found out from watching him that once a bond is in fruition he can't control it like he can control his winged sekirei. Because he can't control it and because his presence is so… immense I can barely control myself. Gaining number 22 has made him much stronger as an ashikabi than he already is and that strength is growing."

Before Matsu could finish Uzume helped Matsu down to the table at the same spot Homura was in before. His plate was still there and Miya had taken most of them already. "Thanks," Matsu muttered as she rested in her seat.

"No problem… though I think we should have past by the bathroom first," Uzume chuckled a bit.

"Uh, why?" Matsu asked and Uzume pointed down. Matsu followed Uzume's lead and looked straight at her left hand. The same hand that was glossy and sticky from something. The same hand that she was using for the last couple hours nonstop on herself. This hand that was obviously dirty. Matsu flushed red and hid the hand behind her back as if hiding away the evidence of her earlier festivities. "Yeah, Matsu needs to clean up fufufu," she chuckled and so did Uzume.

"I can't blame you," Uzume walked to the side and grabbed a couple hand wipes. She sat down next to Matsu handed them to her. Matsu muttered a soft "thanks" before wiping her hands off. Uzume smirked a bit at the flustered sekirei and placed her elbow on the table and her chin her hand. "He's got a nice body and some very good size to him. I'm sure you can agree huh?"

"Oh, yeah fufufu." Matsu looked up in blissful memory of something that Uzume can only imagine is really dirty. "His body is so… mhmm. I want a taste so badly. I can feel him now. Inside me. That fire… its needs to be quelled," Matsu moaned while holding herself. Even Uzume couldn't help but be perpetrated by the sensual energy coming off of Matsu right now. Uzume could practically taste it in the air and it even made her spine shiver.

"Calm down jeez," Uzume flushed with her eyes everywhere but not on Matsu.

"Matsu wishes she could," Matsu groaned before letting her head fall to the table next to the plate. "One more sekirei. If he gets one more and grows stronger I will not be able to resist anymore."

"Matsu," Uzume looked upon her friend with a bit of pity. She's reacting to her ashikabi. Their ashikabi. How can Otieno be so strong to have all of them as their ashikabi. The only one so far that isn't jumping his bones is Homura and she hoped it'd stay that way. Uzume thought back to her own reaction and it was terrible. She felt like she wanted to tear her heart out and literally hand it to him just to get him to accept her. Uzume can't imagine what it's like to resist as long as Matsu had but then again she doesn't know how long Matsu has been reacting to him. It could have been days, weeks, or even months. Uzume lasted only a couple days and in two of those he was unconscious. When he woke up it was only a matter of hours before she was winged to a man she barely knew. With him stronger than before… Uzume cringed at the memory of her reaction and imagined it five times worse. It's probably the most pleasurable and torturous experience she can think of.

Uzume narrowed her eyes.

'But with Matsu brain fried then maybe now is the time to get some details,' Uzume thought with a sly smirk on her lips.

"So… how's Mutsu and him been during their night time excursions? Like that one last night?"

"Uhhh, from what I saw they're good. They had to deal with something for the last couple days. Mostly traveling." Matsu muttered whimsy. "It's funny. The sekirei game is beginning and yet he's allowed to travel like he does still. Minaka must really like him… or have plans for him," Matsu finished sort of ominously. Uzume didn't like the idea of that mad man having 'plans' for her loved ones, let alone her ashikabi. The Sekirei Plan is one thing and anymore is unthinkable. Then again Jaeger can take care of himself. He became a boss of this town in a couple months and that's insane and impossible. From all the anime and shows Uzume has engrossed herself with its unreal to climb the ladder that fast. Not unless you did something drastic like murder a thousand guys in a week.

"You saw all this through the cameras or something right Matsu?" Uzume asked wanting to get something out of her she could use. Jaeger told her a great deal and she listened in on even more but still that didn't understand what she really wanted to know. Just who her Ashikabi is and what made him who he is. This has roasted and burned within her mind since before she gained her wings. He's stranger than any man she's ever met. Like a mess of character defects meshed together in a mix that somehow works behind an emotionless visage. Uzume needs more than what he does now.

"Yeah mostly. His partners especially haha, that Victor man they hang around is sort of decent. I think he came by while you were gone and Miya saw to him."

"What!" One of Otieno's lackeys was here while he was gone? Why would that even be a thing?

"Yeah. Big guy," Matsu used her arms to exaggerate just how big by putting them out past her sides a bit and raising her up to show how tall being little since they are currently sitting at the table.

'Still,' Uzume thought to herself. 'I can use this to my advantage.' Because if one showed up maybe many more did as well. "Huh, anyone else other than Mutsu-nii and that Victor guy?"

"Well, there's Lady Nightingale," Matsu muttered as she smothered the table with her face and arms.

Uzume almost smiled at the mention of this mystery woman that's trying to sink her claws into her Ashikabi. "Okay, and that is?"

"His Black Angel of death and despair…. You're his White angel of life and contentment. For a man that doesn't believe in God he makes a lot of references to one doesn't he?" Uzume wasn't sure how to receive this information. This other woman. This "Lady Nightingale" is his Black Angel. He has a different angel? How many angels does he have? Uzume wanted to ask these questions but relented for now. "Matsu wouldn't cross her on her best days. She's the largest reason I haven't approached him and Matsu really wants to."

"Right," Uzume said and waited for her friend to continue.

"And the fact he threatened to kill Matsu dead, well not dead, but he wasn't nice when he threatened to burn me down."

"Okay."

"With Mutsu not liking Matsu is another issue."

"Uhuh."

"And that Lady Nightingale will kill me."

And finally they're back on track. "I couldn't guess why Lady Nightingale would want to end you though."

"That's because she hates anything trying to get what's hers. She's his sekirei after all and I never would've thought she'd be that possessive."

The alarms went off as Uzume's eyes widened and her fists tightened. She thought back to the discussion from before for any form of falsehood Otieno might have given her but none came up. He responded with only simple truths that appeased her at the time and barely any answers she needed. Yet again he didn't lie to her but didn't answer her again. He will evade and run from her until the day his back is against a wall it seems. Well that day is today and this left one last question.

"Uh, who are the only sekirei released back then around when Otieno got here again?"

"Uh god don't say his name please," Matsu groaned.

"Sorry," Uzume said quickly. "But who are they?"

"The first discipline squad, you, Homura, and a few others but those were candidates for the new Discipline Squad. Did you know that Jaeger is a virgin? I ran the tests from MBI and corrupted the data they took from him but took it for myself. He's never once physically experienced sexual intercourse. I can tell he knows how to use his hands and has knowledge of the human body but outside of that its blank. I can tell you why if you want Uzume." Matsu snickered a bit. "I bet your eager… Uzume?"

Uzume was faintly listening to Matsu anymore. She was focusing on this mystery sekirei of his and now it's narrowed down. Uzume can remember the few candidates that signed up while she was at the tower and none of them could be this deadly or the Black Angel of death that Matsu mentioned. If its not the candidates then that left the original members of the Discipline Squad and only one came to mind associated with the color black.

"It his Black Angel…. Her?" Uzume grit her teeth.

"Eh." Matsu shot up and with horror etched into her expression. "I-I mean…"

"Is it…."

"Eyyyaa! Don't say it! They'll kill me! Forget I said anything!"

"Karasuba," Uzume struggled to get out and Matsu frozen. Matsu and Uzume stared at each other for a time before Uzume shot up to her feet in rage. That woman! That bitch… is his first. The woman that tried and almost succeeded with killing him, her, Matsu, Miya, and big bro. Son of a…

"Nooooooooooo!" Matsu screamed as she desperately shot up to shaky legs to stop Uzume but it was too late. Uzume shot towards the door with red in her eyes. "Uzume stop!"

It was too late though. The veil sekirei was already in her silk robes flying through the city with one place in mind. Where he Ashikabi is and the bond isn't shut off. She can feel him in the distance. He knows and he'd better be ready to explain.

Uzume stomped down making cracks in the cement as she landed. She didn't know how she got to his so that but she looked around following the bond to him. She fists are clenched and her tama is on fire.

"Hello Uzume."

Uzume stopped and shot her hooded head towards the direction of the voice and spotted him in the middle of the empty walk way. He was next to a sushi place in this… college portion of the city alone. He knew she was coming and was ready to confront her. He didn't look afraid or even tense at her arrival as if her presence didn't even matter. Uzume clenched her fists then she saw red then black. She screamed. "YOU BASTARD!" And then she charged at him.

* * *

Scene Change

* * *

"So… w-what do you think? Hehehe good idea right?" The man chuckled nervously after laying the most of his idea to get us both filthy rich in no time. Another plan out of maybe 17 with only 2 working in my favor in the end and him ending up with a hefty sum of money to pay back his debt collectors. I thought on the plan itself and I literally wanted to stab the man in the face with his own sekirei's fingers, but… I was intrigued a bit and found a bit of gold in the shit mine he's trying to lead me too.

"Hmm," I grunted and turned my head back to my food instead. We found a nice sushi place and I got a good batch of it for my self along with a fork and not those foolish little sticks. NO Wasabi whatsoever. I poured soy sauce on a few of my logs and leaned back in my seat in thought. "I don't like it," I shot him down and he winced at my firm answer.

"Come on bro it's a good deal."

"Seo," I turned my head towards him this time and he shrunk back a bit in his seat. "You want me involved with an underground fighting arena when I already have enough on my plate from another one. Then you want me to endorse a fighter of yours whom of which I know because I was the one that stabbed him in the first place. Roughly speaking he's a rat and a bitch and lucky I didn't feed him to my monsters." I sighed and turned my head back to my feet. "You want me to place money, my funds, into these ventures as well in hope to monopolize the soap and make up market of the city in due time when I don't even see these failing ventures going anywhere and that's only half of what you fed me in our plan to "Take over Shin Tokyo from the baddies in their towers,'" which are the round table conference, The Group, MBI, Higa Conglomerate, and a few others with myself included. "What want me to use my connections with MBI as a platinum star member to give you an inside on current gen tech in hope to copy and produce and so much more."

"Well I…"

"I'm not finished," I snapped at the man and he closed his mouth before I sewed it together. I have the needle and thread with me right now. I had to do it once to a monster for insulting Karasuba in front of the both of us just because he's the son of the president of Russia. Fool. "You want me to pointless throw my money around in hope that something will stick like usual and this time you've out done yourself…" I took a breath and looked over the brochures and charts he brought with him again and frowned. "But… There's some intrigue in what you've told me." I held up on brochure for a makeup and designers company. "You said this is one of the many going under… correct?"

"Uh, yeah!" Seo nodded his head furiously. "You like that one?" He said hopefully.

"No," I shot his plane down again and turned the brochure over once more. "Kochō," I called my sekirei from across the hibachi table. She didn't respond for she seemed a bit enamored with the chef and his tricks while grilling the steak and chicken. "Kochō," I called again just as the chef threw his knives in the air and caught one behind his back. I looked around and even Seo's twins were flabbergasted by this man and his faulty knife play skills. I didn't see what the big issue was. I've seen chefs perform this many times over. I was about to call my sekirei again until I felt an unfamiliar weight on my shoulder from something. I glanced over and spied Seo's hand on my shoulder and a strange expression on his face. It was one of understanding by the looks of is.

"Listen, you forget that they," he gestured to the sekirei that watched his chef and his performance. "They have never been in the real world for long and this is something new to them. Let them have this before you get back to business." I felt like brushing off this man and his foolishness but when I turned my attention to my sekirei, even Akitsu who took her eyes off me to watch, that maybe his words aren't as foolish as I assumed. I thought on it and found his reason sound. I did forget that just because they're adults physically doesn't mean they have the same experiences as one as old as myself or even Seo. I suppose I can let them have this. It could change in a moment's notice after all.

"Very well." I looked down at my food and went back to eating and looked up to the mediocre skills of the chef as well. He's not bad. I finished my food just as the man left leaving a mountain of rich, meat, and a lot of shrimp sauce in his wake. I glanced up and saw my sekirei all eating about 200,000-yen worth of food before me and sighed. I really need to stop eating out else my bank will break. I have near unlimited resources because of my connections with MBI and the Group but the money spent personally like this comes out of my savings. While most crime lords can lord their money around like fiends in the end it's not theirs because it belongs to others. Because it belongs to others it's not theirs to spend. So, anything I spend is from my bank, my revenue, and my work. I haven't touched my store of funds from when I first arrived and hopefully it stays that way.

"Ashikabi-sama," Kochō called for me and I looked up from my Mutsu position at her. "That thing when he threw the knife up, twirled it in his fingers behind his back, and then tossed it back up and caught it after it bounced off the grill," my sekirei said a bit mystified and showing a side of her I never thought possible. "Can you do that?"

"Of course, but most of my knife skills are meant for execution and not for a show." I turned the situation a bit tense with my admission before letting my chin fall and closing my eyes again. "Also, when you have the chance I want you to look over Seo's little plan. Put it all together and make it work. Mutsu, give her the necessary names and numbers to make this possible. Call Nightingale as well and tell her that I have a new mark for her."

"O-Of course," Kochō worded in a humbled tone.

"As you wish Ashikabi-sama." Mutsu resounded.

I brought their little happy time to an end… I'm such a bad guy… but I don't care much. I did gather the files and brochures that Seo brought with him and handed them to my right to Akitsu. "Pass until it gets to Kochō please." Akitsu took it without a word and passed it over towards Homura who looked at me dryly.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you really taking his word seriously?" He asked stunned by this sudden turn of events. While I denounced his plan and the ignorance in it to find that most of these businesses that belong to men in the same council as me to be interesting. This might be the edge I need coming from the hands of a ruffian and a scoundrel. The underground fighting area as well is under Higa's lead and connected with the Chaos Arena as well. That fool works in collaboration with Black. That Vampire Lord… I'm going to kill him if I get my hands on him. I don't care how immortal you he thinks he is. I'm probably as immortal as he is just without the entire decapitation thing. I can't survive that, but time means nothing to the both of us. If it did I'd be dead right now. I would have died 300 hundred years ago for time doesn't stop in the Shadow Lands.

I shook my head of these thoughts to get back on track. "Homura trust me and if we play this right we can kill three birds with one stone."

"And what birds are those?"

"Placing the keel of the underworld ship under my control, make the city more secure for sekirei, and to make us all very wealthy. Not rich," I rose my finger up with a smile at that thought of swimming in jewels and cash. "But wealthy," and I can kill the entirety of The Group that are in my way. This might take a year or maybe more, but this might work. It's a gamble but I've a good feeling about this.

"Ashikabi-sama I'm having trouble with the wall. Can I have the password to your network?" Kochō asked from across the table. I rose up my phone and typed in the password on my notepad app thing. I cut the screen off the handed it right at Akitsu who handed it to Homura. Homura still had yet to pass the information to Mutsu and then Kochō so I starred at him. He sighed and passed my phone and intel to Mutsu and he passed it to Kochō. He spoke a couple words I couldn't make out and pointed to the tablet she's on. She nodded with agreeance repeatedly for some reason.

"So you're doing it?" Seo asked, stunned at the "yes" that I've given him. "Awesome I can't wait to start this partner!" Seo put me in a one-handed hug and rose his fist up and proudly roared, "Let's EAT!"

"Ahhh," came a collective collection of sighs and groans from four of us at this table being myself, Mutsu, Kochō, and Homura.

Seo looked around at the four of us and I face palmed just like Homura did at the memory of just an hour ago. I'm sure the Innkeeper is still livid with my escape and our abandonment of the Inn. Well, we left her accomplice to suffer the blunt of her Tengu Masked wrath. Someone has to and like I told her before, she had her time on screen.

"Well, since we're partners we can get together the needed resources to…"

"No," I rose my hand and shrugged off his arm from my shoulders. "You will do as I say when I say it."

"W-what but I…"

"Seo," I interrupted him again. "It's my money, my organization, my time, and my sekirei. You brought me information and possible foolhardy options. Those won't work this time around, but if you're willing to play the role of an emissary we can make this work. Do you want to make this work Seo or do you want to get a small finders fee for the lead? The choice is yours."

I reached for my drink and rose it to my lips before I felt something through the bond. I turned my head towards the direction that must be the inn and the heated rage flowing into me from the most unlikely source. "Angel." I muttered and stood up to my feet with my drink in hand. I rose it up and swallowed the contents within and slammed the cup down causing it to shatter.

"What the hell!" Seo yelled as shards shot his way.

"Otieno-sama," Mutsu called out to me and I rose my hand.

"I'll handle this. Its me she wants." I pushed my chair in and rolled my shoulders.

"Wait, what's going on?" Seo asked.

"No one interfere," I looked at every pair of eyes that accompanied me to insure they understood. If I die today it is what it is.

"Whatever," Homura waved me off.

"I'll spectate and record," Kocho announced from her seat.

"Very well," Mutsu confirmed.

"Yes Otieno-sama." Akitsu confirmed my order.

"I don't know what's going on but sure man." Seo allowed his input to break a bit of the tension.

I walked out the sushi restaurant and stood in the middle of the empty walk way for her. In little to no time she arrived before me with a fierce aura surrounding her body. A power emanated from her body that I never thought possible from the Veil Sekirei. She walked around towards my direction and past me while turned her head left and right.

"Hello Uzume," I called her to get her attention and received it I did. A wave of malice flowed through the bond between us and applied pressure to the air. Even I can feel it from her and she's about ten feet away. Impressive. I never knew she was this strong and full of his much wrath. I reached down for my sword only to find that they aren't here. That's not good. Most of my kills are with my hands not my blades. Makes it personal and feeds the beast. I don't know how to hold back with my hands and feet compared to my blades.

"YOU," she roared and her aura increased. "BASTARD." In speeds that made me blink she charged me with veal. I took a stance as those banners of hers shot towards me. I flowed left and right between them and jumped back as she came down upon the spot I was in making cracks in the walkway. I rose an eyebrow. She's out for blood.

I shot at Uzume and noticed shock in her eyes that lasted only a moment before she returned it. White banners came down upon me, but I shifted out of the way. I heard a crack and glanced back at the banners as they hit the walkway. Those cloth banners cracked stone with it's pressure. I can only imagine what might happen if those his me. I'm going to have to finish this without holding back. I clenched my fists and leaned forward. I slid under her guard and twirled around to her back. I shot back when my instincts told me and narrowly being speared from the sides by her banners. I jumped further back as she floated up in the air and turned back around to face me.

"You son of a bitch!" Uzume screamed at me. "I trusted you and you… you betrayed me! For her! You leave me for her!"

"Her?" I questioned and thought back on who she could mean and only one woman came to mind that can cause rage of his level. "Ah, so you know about Karasuba then?" Uzume grit her teeth and her banner came together into a large corkscrew. She fired towards me and I stopped in place as she came at me. She didn't falter or stop her assault which means if this hits me I'm going to die. I took a breath and jumped. I tucked my feet in and felt my body roll and glide along the attack towards Uzume.

"What!"

Uzume's surprise lasted only a moment before my feet impacted her face and throat. Despite her being my sekirei I will not hold back against a threat to my life. I also dropped the restrictions on the bond between us and felt everything as she flew back from my kick. She righted herself with ease and growled at me with her banners angrily floating around her.

"You…."

"Karasuba is my first sekirei," I admitted freely but my tone was tense and stance strong. I reached for my swords when I felt her hate grown only to touch air. I forgo my blades today, but habits die hard and reached for them anyway. When I felt nothing my hands tense as my fingers extended into what claws would resemble. Today I wasn't supposed to get into any kind of head to head bout against anyone. I planned it out for just that desire but it seems she will see the dark of me today.

"Your first," Uzume spat to the side before glaring harshly at me. "You never thought to tell me but instead have me figure it out myself?"

"I didn't want you to know at all but knew it would come out eventually," I admitted. And I know the Innkeeper didn't say anything leaving one culprit to this crime. "Oh Matsu," I sighed and shook my head. I told that woman what I'd do if her knowledge ever reached my angel's ear. I suppose I didn't make my warning clear enough.

"Don't blame her for this, blame yourself!" Uzume suddenly roared at me and sent banner of white my way and followed right behind. I side stepped and rose my arms as she shoulder charged me forcing me back in a skid. I grit my teeth at the power behind her attack but suddenly lost my footing. My poise was solid so what happened? I looked down and saw a banner beneath my feet. She tripped me during that attack and from the shadow before me she's about to attack once more. I drew my eyes up and there I saw Uzume looming over me with a spear of sort fashioned from her cloth. Her form aggressive and bolstering with renewed rage. Rage as well as jealousy.

"Matsu was weak and could barely think because of you. She suffers and so do I because of you!" Uzume declared.

I mean I did keep secrets from her that I let Mutsu know same with Homura, threatened her charge Matsu, took Chiho's attention as my own, disregard her protector the Innkeeper, give her materials of endearment more than emotions like she wants, ignore her plight for my own tasks, and shield my soul from her but what man doesn't do this? Even in Manga and those shows she watches no man is perfect enough to get a woman all of these and I'm included in this. How can she be so angry to wish me harm from this?

"I'm tired of being ignored, unloved, forsaken, plagued by nightmares, and always worrying for you. I bet you care more for that bitch than me!" Uzume screamed with her spear up.

"So you intend to kill me to stop it all then. If I die you will follow same with any sekirei bonded with me Uzume. You know this," I reminded her.

"Heheheh," she laughed and cupped her forehead with her hand. "That was by far the most cowardly statement any guy can make. If you kill me others follow? God you're so not worth it… ehk!" Uzume couldn't finish with anything other than a grunt.

"You always talk too much," I said in an empty tone. I faintly say this though. Most dialog I hear from an opponent is useful, but I know almost everything about Uzume. I don't wish to hear her talk anymore and she left her guard open as well. How could I not take advantage? I grabbed hold of her shoulders and took a breath. I circulated Ki though my body and focused it at my leg. I kneed her a second time in the chest forcing her over and climbed up. I took a banner in hand and swung up and down stomping down on her back forcing her down to the ground. I landed next to her and leapt back for some distance. I grit my teeth and stepped back as I felt a dark sorrow fill my heart.

He struck me with ease. He didn't hesitate or care for me during. He saw me as… just another thing in his way. W-was everything a lie?

I felt this through me and it made me stagger. Normally, I'd close her off, but I was a good learning experience. If Uzume can turn against me in such a way I need to know how to handle it completely. My body reacted to danger like it's supposed to and Uzume is now in that category. I brushed off my sleeve and found a cut on my coat. "Sekirei Number 10," I called out to the woman. "Stand and lets finish this." I crossed my arms over my chest as Uzume climbed up to her feet. "If you're angry enough to desire me gone then let's get this over with." I think its about time that Uzume and I had a bit of darkness in out relationship. The larger our fire grew and darker the shadow grew until now.

Uzume growled and climbed up to her feet just slightly winded but if I know my strikes she's in pain and hurt from it. I nodded with approval. "I'm gonna whip your ass," she growled and took a strange stance. I rose my hands up and crossed them in front of my face. I leaned forward a bit and readied myself. "I see things you know," she muttered just loud enough for me to make it out. "I feel things as well." I stood confused. What is she talking about? What did she feel and see?

"I remember looking down at the body of a girl," she started but that didn't mean much to me. I've seen plenty of bodies. "One girl that wore that around your waist," Uzume pointed at my scarf around my waist and my eyes widened a bit. "I remember seeing her broken and beaten body and a man with a large cleaver moments from cutting up her body. I could smell the sick sent of…" Uzume didn't finish and for that I'm grateful. I've never thought of that moment when my world shifted for a very long time. I never needed to or desired to. Uzume… she saw a memory from my past. If she saw and experienced that from my perspective I can only imagine what else she might have witnessed from my past. Can the bond do this? Cause this? How is that possible?

"Otieno… You're the cause of this and I'm… I'm tired of it. I'm tired of trying." Uzume looked up to me with shiny white tears falling down her eyes. So it wasn't just the fact that Karasuba was my sekirei. It's much more than that. Uzume has suffered in silence. Suffered in a fashion that I had no knowledge of. We've been together for so long now and I can only imagine how long she's been in anguish. Now that I think of it, it makes since. How she acted and how she's struggled to have as much time with me as possible. She's been trying to figure out what is truth and what is fiction. I thought back to the anime I watched with her. Most of it gory but with human elements and romance here or there. I remember the games we played and could almost relate them to many instances I've been forced into. I thought back to the many manga she wished me to read. Most relate to fighting, young characters suffering tragic beginnings and cursed lives, and their trials to a tragic end. Many of which I've witness and one I can almost relate to. Uzume has been gauging me in her own way on how I would respond to something so familiar but at the same time different.

"Why didn't you ask me what…"

"You don't think I tried," she interrupted me bitterly and I closed my lips back together. She's not wrong. I've evaded her questions about my past repeatedly as well as what I've endured in the years of my existence. I remember her always trying to trick me or lead me towards revealing my past but years of running from the past aren't so easily brought to a halt. I've never allowed myself to be stopped or held down by my beginnings. I've never dwelled upon the darkness less it consumes everything. Mutsu knows not to pry because in time he'd find out regardless. Mutsu knows everything for he is my partner. Partners in the Jaegers are a must and are the equally powerful extension of your will. Mutsu is more like me and most of my Od has gone to him. Uzume though I left in the dark. My light was smothered by the darkness I tried to shield her from.

"No, there's nothing we can talk about." Uzume shook her head and looked up to me with desperation lithering her eyes. "Either I'll stop you or you'll stop me. Cliché I know, but it's the truth.

I thought on this and the fight, that fire within me, faded away. I felt my hands open and my body relax. 'I did this to her,' I heard within my mind and it was the truth. I broke my stance and stood up straight. Uzume looked ready to charge at me. "Fine," I said to her and Uzume stood perplexed. I looked away to the side and sighed. "Out of all the times I've caused something like this you'd think I would've learned my lesson by now, but I guess this isn't the case."

"What are you talking about," she demanded an answer.

"I've tried to protect her as well. By keeping that part of me hidden from her." I reminisced of that time I slowly became hollow and lost a bit of my humanity. "I remember it well, that time you mentioned Uzume. That time… turned me into the very monsters that hunted me. No," I shook my head. "I became much worse." I took a breath and looked back to my sekirei. "I've been hunted for my entire life and everyone that got too close to me on the same level you wish to be on end up dead or destroyed. I hid myself and my secrets from you to save you from that fate. I kept you at that distance because I didn't want to corrupt you. It's just like what I did to her and you saw it. In a dream you witnessed it. I suppose even now I haven't learned from my mistakes."

"W-what?!" Uzume stood up and broke her stance as well. "Who do you think you are!" She yelled at me and projected so many emotions and thoughts that I couldn't keep up. Anger, malice, love, care, confusion, and so much more. What's most powerful was sorrow. "You! You say you wanted to protect me from yourself! Then you give me some sob story about how people who get close die. Is that why run away like a coward?" Uzume spat at me. A banner of hers rose up and wrapped around my neck and my waist. I didn't fight it. Not even when she approached me with a corkscrew lance of sorts in her hand. A coiled sword that seemed to glow almost like the… the Lance of Retribution? I've seen that Lance only once in my life and will never forget it or the being that wielded it. A **Lance** used to **Judge** the indicted.

"Plagued by the darkness to the point I'm afraid to sleep some days. When I ask to sleep with you I'm refused for at least some comfort. I see so much death that I grew sick and numb. Regardless of this I believed that you were a good person!" By this point the tears poured down her eyes. It was the most horrifying but threatening sight I've ever seen. The power emanating from the veil sekirei before me is incredible. I never would have thought that Uzume could be this powerful. Maybe as powerful as Mutsu even.

"Otieno." Uzume stood in front of me and held up the Lance to my chest where my heart is. "I love you," she confessed and trembled. "And I tried to get you to love me, but you don't, no you can't love can you?" I remained silent. Uzume frowned and that Lance penetrated my chest a bit. Fiery pain filed my senses once it pierced through me. "But I can't anymore. I tried and you," Uzume rose up her free hand to caress my cheek. "You'll just run away from me and I'll never catch you. I can't do this forever and I, I chose not too. This is so selfish of me but I…"

"Uzume," I called to her once her voiced cracked to the point she couldn't speak. She sobbed at what she has to do to free herself and everyone from me. She cried and coughed unable to breathe correctly from a swirl of emotion she couldn't fathom. Still though she looked up to me. I rose my hand up and pulled down my hood for her to see into my eyes. "Angel," I called her this and not as a compliment. She's shown her wrath and the pain she feels from doing what she felt as right. She's choosing Self destruction over losing her light and becoming a beast like me. That was the path she went down because of me leaving her in the dark. An Angel of Retribution. No she's seems like an archangel right now. The pressure of her Od even now is causing the stone beneath her feet to crack. All that rage and desperation as well as love she built up has exploded out and created what I see now. The power swirling within those eyes, yellow and bright like a sun with a twinkling Lance at her side. She's not even using norito. Before I could react she could kill me now if she wanted to.

Like before I can think of only one thing to do now. I reached up to the Lance and took it in both hands. Uzume stood strong ready to drive it in but she looked confused. The Lance wasn't coming out. It's going in. I grit my teeth as the Lance passed through my body. Fire spread throughout my body and blood poured out from the sides of the wound and spread across the fabric.

"Wait… no!" Uzume tried to pull back but it was too late. I felt the Lance go through my lungs and blood shot up my throat. I tried to hold my breath but couldn't find a way to. I breathed in and choked then quickly exhaled forcing blood out past my lips covering parts of her arms and chest wrap. "Otenio goddess stop!" She cried in distress, but I didn't stop. Her strength wasn't enough to stop as the Lance forced itself out from my back. Uzume cried and pulled then struggled until I took her shoulders in hand. I pulled her in towards me.

"Angel," I coughed and wheezed as my breaths became labored.

"We have to take this out and get you to a…" I silenced her with a finger and gazed into her. Frightened and regretful she stood trembling in my arms.

"What do… you want from me," I asked her much like I did this morning.

Uzume's eyes widened a bit at this question. She looked up to me and at the Lance. She looked at the blood that covered her hands and littered her robes. She adopted a near horrified expression on her face. From the blood seeping past my lips s to the red and black staining her clothing. "What have I… d-done?" Uzume looked ready to faint but I kept her up. I asked her a question and before my time is up I need an answer. Uzume must have saw this cause she seemed to act fast. "I want you to let me take this out," she cried. I felt the Lance give and extract from my chest little by little. I stopped the lance from coming out at first then nodded. Uzume pulled back desperately and the lance ejected from my chest. I coughed and more of my blood shot out from my lips and from my chest. "Otieno!" Her banners gently laid me down on the stone and she quickly shot down to the ground to meet me.

"Ashikabi-sama!" I heard in my mind and looked up. I witnessed Mutsu moments from rushing to me but I glared at him. 'Stop,' I transferred across the bond and he stayed in place. Mutsu should know that I can survive this. I've been impaled before and the hole isn't that large. Uzume forced her hands over and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. I clenched my fist and felt Od smother the hole in my back but I felt little left fir me to use. My case of insomnia is fueled by Od. I'm capable of closing the hole in the back of my lungs but not the front. I wheezed and felt the pain of my collapsed lung tear into me. It's like getting stabbed by thousands of needles in your chest.

"Please," Uzume begged. "Please be okay," she sobbed and I rose my hand and caressed her cheek myself. She drew her eyes up to me.

"W-what else," I wheezed and gasped.

"What else? God you have hole in your chest you damned fool! Who cares…"

"What… else," I stopped her.

"I… I just want to know my ashikabi. Both inside and out." Uzume let her chin drop. "I want to know your beginnings and I… I just want you to love me like I love you." Uzume snort and leaned down under her forehead touched down on her hands. "I want you let me protect you, fight for you, and let me protect myself. I'm a big girl after all heheh," she chuckled and I shook my head. I leaned up and Uzume tensed and tired to push me down. "No wait until an ambulance or…" I cupped her chin and pressed my lips to hers. I felt a slight drain from my body and then energy burst from Uzume's back and filled the air with Od. Od I took hold of and filled me. The hole in my chest closed quickly and I breathed but it was labored. Repairing a lung isn't difficult after all if punctured I simply mend the membrane back together but the bleeding hole in my back is a different story. Her Lance was caked with magic and it harmed me. Uzume has been a he potential to kill me for good. This is unexpected but sort of a relief. If anyone kills me I'd rather it be her or Karasuba. If they combined their strength together I can see a kingdom rending duo in the making.

I pulled back and smiled lightly at Uzume. One she returned with a swift hug. "I'm not gonna say sorry for that I hope you know," she whispered in my ear. I can't blame her for not apologizing seeing I was the one that allowed that Lance to pierce my body. I wrapped my arms around her and placed my fingers in the top of her shoulders at the root of the spine where her symbol is. I closed my eyes and allowed my spirit sight to take hold of me and gaze upon this "different" Uzume before me. I could see the blood, my living blood, saturating itself in Od and spreading within the fabric of Uzume's clothes. Then it spread upward towards her symbol and correlated in this area. I opened my eyes and saw her hood no long was stained black from my blood same with her skin. It was gone.

I realized that unlike my sister I never allowed my world or my soul to get too close to her and she died. Uzume suffered as well because I kept darkness from her only to be smothered by it regardless. If darkness is going to take her regardless of my desires then I'll make it my choice to help her transverse it. I'll let her be the first to walk beside me through the dark with me as the guide and see how it affects her. My blood is the first step and unlike so many others it accepted her. At her most vulnerable and powerful as well. I prayed as I held her I didn't make a mistake. I pray as she nestled in my arms that my soul doesn't break her. This is going to be a new experience for the both of us. I hate new trends but this one is necessary. Uzume truly wished me dead to save herself so it seems the bond has its limits. Keeping myself locked away from her didn't help prevent this. Time to change tactics.

* * *

A/N: Hmm not used to the writing about this sort of thing. Putting description on the inner struggle of someone outside of first person. That's something I need to work on. I was in the air what to do with Matsu still am. Anyway still got the Arena Arc in planning with enough hunting to go around.

What Hunting without a little bloodshed?

Thanks for reading and please review


	14. A Potential Fallout

Chapter 14: A Potential Fallout

* * *

"That damned fool," was resounded in the confines of the expensive condo. It beat against the window pan that's revealing the Tokyo Dome or what's being remodeled as the Chaos Arena. These few expansive nights brought forth thoughts, feelings, and emotions normally unfounded within one like her. She doesn't feel for people outside of the ones needing correcting. On the subject of correcting two probably three people came to mind that deserve to taste her blade.

"Idiot," she scoffed as her Grey but blood twinge eyes studied the Grey and a dark ceiling above her. She's longed turned off all the lights within the condo and rest in relatively calm darkness. The type of darkness that licks as the walls in a manner that the light from a fire can. The kind of darkness that betrays the illusion of sentience in a way. It's the darkness that she began to find an unhealthy fascination in much like her fascination in a certain man in the city. One man that nearly got himself critically injured again for practically nothing.

"Stupid fool," she sighed unamused at what she's just witnessed and experienced through the bond. She was never one to believe in Minaka's insane prattle about God's and destined ones. The little speech they give the little birds to be released is all nonsense. They begin indoctrination the moment free thought is picked up by their machines and off the bat they are sent out to their doom. She didn't care for such. If anything, she wanted nothing but to fight and kill a certain someone and admittedly still does. That fool doesn't know about this though, but it's not like he'd ask unless it was relevant. It hasn't been as of late though. Maybe that spells something but for the life of the many she's slain she's not sure.

The black swordsman or swordswoman if you want to be politically correct has had a long couple of days. In all actuality it's been a long couple of months that felt more like years have gone by instead. If some one asked her if she could go back with the power to reverse time she'd Ido them and walk away with a smile on her lips for the poor fool. These months have been the best of her life and wouldn't trade them for anything. Not even to fight her which she found sort of interesting.

She's been thrown into the war against humanity once more because of the Samurai General and her one-and-only getting too curious if you asked her. The second war was hard and long fought but over years ago. Then that beautifully merciless being of a man had to show up and drag her back into a world she's only seen in those movies' humans like. A world where she travels by leave of the Game Master himself and preforms clandestine operations. She's learned subtly is sometimes a must, and it was a lesson hard learned by her. Slow and steady, she doesn't have the patience for that if she can't see what can come out it. The wait, she learned, was more than worth it.

He tells her that restraint is her greatest challenged and being told that by a human wasn't easy, Ashikabi or not. It's never that easy to fight against this unending lust for blood. A good portion of her lust stemmed from her blood thirsty sword that was broken by him. That sword wasn't normal and demanded a tribute of blood to be paid periodically. Only she could give it that and wield its effectively without falling to temptation. It was said that sword was unbreakable because what in life is more powerful than desire? Every being in this world has it including her. Hers was about useless bonds and love. The thought of it makes her ill still. The desires we have are what keep us alive and full of purpose, herself included, so she believed nothing could supersede it.

But then she met him and felt the powerful force that takes precedence over even the most basic of desire. Over the desire for food, water, women, war, death, and even life. What she saw that shadowed over her desire for blood was the deepest and most rooted hatred she's ever seen. His eyes that day he fought her and even worse when he stabbed her near her heart sent shivers up her spine. His hatred truly is stifling. It dominates his every twitch of his finger or syllable of a word he spoke. His hatred is a frenzied force with no predictable pattern that emanates from the abyss swirling within him. That man is the destruction of races, profanity of all that's pure, and the most deep-rooted hatred personified, and his blade rightfully named Hate is its physical extension.

With every monster or man, he kills you'd believe at first glance it's because of duty or out of annoyance, but it's nothing so simple. It's based on a desire unknown to her. One that transcends that of anything she's even seen. She realized this and it's why she tied herself to him. Never in her dreams could she imagine a man, let alone a weak pathetic monkey, to contains such uncoordinated malice. It's not directed at anyone or anything which is was what has Karasuba at a loss even now. She sat there in the dark almost everyday thinking of her Ashikabi and his desire.

Desire is what gives us purpose so what is his desire?

What caused his hatred to become almost touchable in the air?

Why doesn't he even give at least the illusion of desire?

Normally, hatred is directed to a source in hope of controlling it from spreading out to the masses. Mass murdering fiends have hatred that's uncontrolled for the most part but even then, they pick and choose who to placed it on. He doesn't direct in in kind and he looked and feels ready to kill everything and everyone on around him and yet doesn't. What keeps him grounded enough? Karasuba may never know but it's a mystery she's eager to get to the bottom of.

Of all the humans in this world he's the worthiest of her. So much so she could accept Samurai boy as well after a time. Even his big tit having cow as well. She found out after a laughter filled call from Minaka that he's adopted the scrapped number today and obtained an brain type sekirei as well. That makes five so far. Before it would have irked her a bit, but Mutsu understands his place and the others will as well. He belongs to her and only her. "It's just that simple," Karasuba smiled slyly at this fact. Only with her does he offer himself completely and the others are just toys for him to play with. While she's not near him at all times to swim in the abyss she can abide her time seeing that the game doesn't start for another month or two. Once the game does begin and the Arena clash to come ends, she won't be accepting of their separation anymore.

While she does not voice this having those other women around him it's quite annoying. They need to know what the chain of command is and how they can't get comfortable with him like most sekirei seem probe of doing. Looking at the list now so many sekirei already have fucked their Ashikabi. No woman is going to take his first or be allowed to get that close to him. He knows better so she's not worried about it happening, but still having them swooning off him makes her want to kill them. The cow especially. She contemplates killing her during her visits to the sickly monkey she likes. Maybe even kill them both together as an act if generosity. She's killed family members one by one out of sight many times, especially with her Ashikabi at the head. Family dying together is supposedly a mercy. It never did cross her mind before. A kill is a kill. With the cow out of the way she'd get the one that got away and free her Ashikabi of its annoying presence. This morning is proof of that cow's influence when he rejected her. It wasn't blatant but she felt hesitation from him and that was enough.

Even now she could feel traveling though the city and he could sense her resting in her condo. Her Ashikabi was prepping for something. It even for her off her couch to looked out the window to the city. She pinpointed where he was and waited with her arms crossed under her breast. Then she was hit with a concentrated firm of hatred the make her raise an eyebrow. It was directed towards her Ashikabi that's for sure. He opened the bond between them both fully so everything the cow felt he felt and as consequence she felt. It brought a smile to her face. "How cute," Karasuba giggled with her fist over her lips. "The little angel is angry." Karasuba rooted out this emotion first. It was adorable. Like seeing a child get red face furious for the first time. Her ashikabi of course wasn't fazed. She could feel him rooting through the darkness for a mask to appease this toy's tantrums. Like she expected they fought, and the angel fell harder and harder into despair.

"About time too," Karasuba mused. So far only Mutsu and her understood their ashikabi inside and out. Not fully but in a way that makes them both untouchable by his own words. He'd destroy a country if they were captured to protect himself and his secrets.

An emotional roller-coaster of sadness and anger fluctuated inside and out of his precious angel. If anyone deserved to be corrupted by him it's her. He's mastery over the art of illusions confused her at first but then she dug deep, and this poor little girl dug a little too deep. She can't blame that cow for being so upset but to fight her ashikabi is foolish. He's human and so only as strong as a human can be but his abilities associated with that is what sets him apart. He'll massacre anyone he gets into a bought with outside of her and a few other sekirei in the game. She could kill him, and he could kill her. That fact fills her with excitement. Excitement that died once she felt this new development.

"What are you doing," she growled menacingly. Karasuba rose her hand up to her chest as pain spiked in that area just shy of her heart but through a lung, blood vessels, and muscle. "You let her stab you?" Karasuba scoffed before returning her arms to their previous position. "Idiot. You risked too much for your curiosity, fool."

She shook her head with a coming fit if exasperation coming. She felt a shift of emotions from his little angel. Being tied towards an empathic man like that she was forced to learn how to pick out what he feels from others. His time with his cow was annoying. She's like a ball just bouncing all over the walls especially today. What Karasuba found the most amusing about today is the fact that his angel felt distress and sadness most of the day. It was interesting and her ashikabi is too dense to realize this unless told out right. He's that much of an idiot but he's her idiot. Getting stabbed in the chest willingly cemented this notion. She felt along the concord of their bond and found emptiness within him. He soaked in her emotions but then filtered them out.

Hatred isn't so easily curbed. It'll take more than that little girl to do it. Actually, she'll never shift him like she wants. Karasuba held no desired to change him. He was perfect as he was as both as blood thirsty beast and socially lacking fool. She studied the physiological profiles of every number in the game and none of them have what he'd need to fill his void or control him like she can. This is why she's not worried and lets him have his way. This is why she can get up in the morning eager to see what he might do. That's why her phone is always nearby for that next time they leave to do business.

The smile that cursed the back sekirei's lips suddenly faltered. "What in the world?" She felt something through the bond that was… strange. It was strange, familiar, and disgusting. It felt like he was… its too early for that though. He felt the sickening sensation of humanity. It's too early for this but it's happening regardless. "That witch," Karasuba growled. "Congrats little bitch now I really want you dead." Karasuba gripped her forearms hard. "You made him vulnerable."

Karasuba turned away from the window and made her way back to her room to get suited up. Every time he suffers a possible Fall-Out as is called it she's been near him to keep his unfeather hatred contained. During his periods of weakness, if they could even be called that, he's vulnerable but also very entertaining once set off. His emotions are about to unshackle themselves and Mutsu and her need to be his compass during. Still, Karasuba thought this was strange. What did that cow experience to force his body to regress all of the sudden?

She pondered on this while she pulled on a black leather vest tank and leather jacket. She snagged a single black skirt then tied back her hair. She's spent the night half naked and comfortable for the most part and now the situation grew complicated. She pulled on her black stockings and finally her boot before rushing to the door. She grabbed her sword in the way out the door which locked automatically at her exit. She pressured her Ashikabi physically to get her a new place to live closer to him but not to far from MBI headquarters. This was the result being much larger than her room before.

Karasuba took the elevator down to the garage with her bike key in hand. Her loving ashikabi bought her a very expensive motorcycle on top of clothes for riders. Her bike is much faster than she can run even if she did bask into the power of her Tama. A bike though can run through the city in moments and the humans on the sidewalk will move for her. This will take a moment.

"You better not ruin this Mutsu," Karasuba spat to the side before slipping on her sleek black helmet. She placed her sword into a container to the side sliding it straight in then started her back. In a moment to warm it up Lady Nightingale had taken to the streets.

* * *

Scene Change - POV Shift: Mutsu

* * *

"What are they doing," Seo wondered as he watched my ashikabi confront my little sister. I pondered this myself because this is really sudden. This is forward even for her. Uzume never confronts the issue unless backed into a corner. I've known this about my genetic sister for a while now. Even before I discovered they we shared gene and blood. Even since my blood was used to strength her.

Our ashikabi stood before her and I crossed my arms to see what they might do. I'm going to assume that Otieno doesn't realized that we have front row seats and can see them at this moment.

"Maybe talk it out," Hibeki muttered.

I hoped this would be the case. Suddenly Uzume lunged towards our ashikabi with her banners flying in a threatening fashion. I nearly shot to my feet, but I was ordered to stay put. Myself and everyone one else at the table.

"What the hell!" Seo shot up to his feet as a fight of sorts between ashikabi and sekirei began. I felt Otieno through the bond turning empty. He was instinctively regressing into his hunting phase. If he sees Uzume as a threat and hunts her I'm unsure of what might happen. Suddenly I was sacked by a feeling of dread.

"Oh god," Kochō coughed as she gripped her heart and I was tempted to do that same. Being one of the four sekirei he has winged I'm sure Karasuba feels this as well. This wasn't from Otieno though. This was coming from Uzume. She's feeling lost and scared. She's angry and sorrowful. I never thought the bond between ashikabi and sekirei could extend out this drastically, but I'm left as surprised as the next.

"Are you alright," Homura asked. He looked to be moments from acting as his eyes shot from myself to Kocho. During this scuffle Otieno defended himself as he's shown me multiple times, and even started trading blows with Uzume evenly. He flowed through her relentless assault masterfully without the aim of letting her have an inch.

"Y-yes," Kocho breathed hard and looked up to the battle. She steadied her hand with her tablet up to records this. She's working to restrict the camera feeds for the surrounding area and control what she needed to spectate like she said she would. At first I didn't know what to think about this sekirei he brought home but she's proved herself competent

"What the hell," Seo yelled again and looked at his sekirei. "We need to stop this now!"

"Sit down," I said firmly. Seo glared at me and pointed out the window.

"You're "sibling' is going to kill your ashikabi! Against all the adjustments she's trying to kill him. Not beat him up but kill him!" Seo didn't need to remind me of this. I can obviously see what's going on and even worse I can feel it. Uzume is sorrowful but resolute in her desire to kill our ashikabi. Against adjustment, the Tama, and even our bodies she's forsaking her thoughts and feelings to end our ashikabi. "And if she succeeds, you'll be done Mutsu. You and all the other's he's had gain wings will all be deactivated," Seo grit his teeth at me.

I closed my eyes and took a calming breath. It came in haggard and rough, but I still tried to keep my poise. "We were told not to interfere Seo," I looked up to the man. I gripped the sides of my arms harshly as I watched this happen. This that should never happen between ashikabi and sekirei.

"Yeah, but I don't need to take orders from him," Seo scoffed at me ready to jump in.

"You will wait," I shot up to my feet and glared down on the man. I felt a bit of my tama bolster causing the table to shake. The lights began to flicker as the fire between my shoulder blade grew hot and spread along eight central point on my back. As the power grew even the glass in front of me began to crack from the pressure. I felt happen more than I saw it, because my attention was focused on this foolish little human that's about to get himself killed. If not by them then by me. I've much I'm not proud of during my tour and worse since become his sekirei. What's one more human to the long list I have already?

Seo grit his teeth, but he relented enough to fall back down to his chair. He reached for his sake and began to pour himself glass after glass. I sat down as well and crossed my arms once more.

"Mutsu," Homura called for me. I turned my attention towards him next. "I understand that his orders are final and law but…"

"You understand nothing Homura," I stopped him right there without even looking at the fire sekirei.

"We need to stop this!" He exclaimed. "Even the scrapped number looks ready to jump up and get between them." Key to his word Akitsu was indeed glaring hard at both Otieno and Uzume as they fought. The water in front of her was frozen and the glass it was in shattered into pieced around the glass.

"But she doesn't because she understands. This has to be settled between them. This has nothing to do with you after all," I turned my eyes towards the fire sekirei. "You're still unwinged and refuse to change that." Homura looked upon me horrified at my words then turned his head away from me. It's not like it's hard to notice or feel. Whether Otieno doesn't know or even care, it's still all the same.

I watched patiently as the two of them conflicted. From fighting to conversation, it's gone back and forth until Otieno turned completely empty on the inside. I stood up once I felt this. I remember feeling this only three other times and each ended red with blood. "Stay here," I said and grabbed my sword.

"You're going," Seo asked and the collective set of eyes in the room flowed towards me.

I hesitated. I was told not to interfere, and I've never gone against his orders unless it was absolutely necessary. It's only been twice and the first didn't end well for him. The second was justified. Suddenly Uzume wrapped her strands around a stationary Otieno and the sheer amount of force I felt from Uzume through the bond nearly sent me reeling back. I watched as Uzume walked up towards Otieno with tears glistening down her cheeks. A shining sword made from her strand was in her hands, coiled and pointed. I could imagine just what this might be used for and impaling came to mind. She's actually going to do it.

"Yes," I said with resolve and rushed outside the door with my sword in hand. I'd stop her if I have to and if necessary, kill her. I've no desire to commit a sin like this after what I've done for her, but I can't let Otieno die. Not with everything we started and what we plan to do. There's too much at stake for him to die here and now, and he seems willing to let it happen regardless. I knew this would happen. She's the only one that could handle and control him. She's the only he'd let take hold of his essence without meaning to. Uzume is his weakness and innocent self in mortal form. He's told me that Karasuba and Uzume are like him. Two sides of the same coin. He'd never kill her and told me once I might have to if the time came. I'd have to kill my both of my sisters.

I know that can and will if justified, but I don't wish too.

"Ahh!" I nearly dropped to the ground as a fierce pain encased my chest. It was like my heart, lung, bones, and arteries are being burnt and severed. I watched as the sword or lance that Uzume held came out from his back. I think it rend through his heart. The mixture of pain and emotions that assaulted me nearly brought me to my knees. "Ashikabi-sama!" I shot towards him moments from drawing.

 **'Stop.'**

I stopped in my tracks at the order from my ashikabi. I was tempted to keep moving, but then I remembered the sensation of when he was about to die once before. This was nowhere close to that. He… He has this under control… Like he always does.

I sighed as I righted myself and watched quietly. That lance was pulled out his chest by Uzume. The pure emotion from Uzume made me turn away for a moment. Even I wasn't sure how to handle this. I also overhead what Uzume was saying. It wasn't with my ears but the ear of our Ashikabi. Our bond is the strongest in the game to the point that I we can share our senses. He's opened the bond in a way I've never felt before. I've felt Uzume in ways I never thought conceivable.

I watched as Uzume's wings flew gracefully behind her. Her wings though appeared slightly different than before. The wings are less pillar like, like more typical sekirei wings I've witnessed and seen. The pillars are the beginning stages of the bond. The more powerful the bond becomes the more concrete the wings become to generate a corporeal, denser form. It can grow to the point that they can influence the surrounding area. Mine are such wings and now Uzume's have evolved as well. Hers are different from before. I can't say they're like the wings of an angel. They're slightly less bright as before and the shape seems almost sharp and keen.

I took a breath as I watched my ashikabi stood to his feet. I clenched my fist and walked up towards them. I'm… unsure of what I'm going to do, but I'll get my point across.

* * *

Pov Change: Jaeger

* * *

"Uzume," we both heard in a deep and foreboding manner that left the woman chilled. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Mutsu is very unhappy with Uzume at the moment. I mean she did attack and try to kill me. Typically, Mutsu and I take care of those sorts of people in a timely manner that benefits us, but this time around… I mean this is Uzume we're talking about. The same one that's smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of her neck more out of more fear than nervousness of what might happen to her. Mutsu doesn't do "Angry" like normal people. He becomes deathly ruffled.

"Eh, bro I…" Uzume tried to say but a fierce narrow of his eyes stopped it. "B-but…"

"Save it," he said firmly. Uzume choked back her words further and closed her mouth shut. Mutsu rose his hand up ready for a fierce smack to Uzume's face. Uzume stepped back a bit from shock. Mutsu would never hit his sister. Not when she pranked him or annoyed him to the point that warrants it but never would. This time around he looked ready and willing to dispatch justice upon her. Uzume braced for the strike to come and closed her eye on the side she knew she'd be stuck on. Mutsu stopped with his hand back though. He stared at her for a moment before letting his arm fall limp to his side. "Uzume…" Mutsu took a breath and let it out before crossing his arms over his chest. "I understand," and with that Mutsu walked away back to the restaurant. He stopped midway. "Don't deserve," he stated then disappeared back into the restaurant.

Uzume cringed a bit at how menacing and strong he came off as and even more from the way Mutsu looked at her. It was unsettling and hurtful. Looking at her whilst struggling not to snack her and that's putting it nicely. Mutsu is very protective, and it shows. Though those last words… that was harsh even for Mutsu. I felt the hated behind that same with the distain. Mutsu understands that it's been hard for Uzume much better than I. He knows she's been suffering but he knew the depth in which she's been suffering. Despite this the crime of attacking me with lethal intent has pushed him to an edge. One that forced him to tell her she's not worth it. Not worth hitting, being angry towards, caring for, sympathizing for, and so much more.

"Oh man," Uzume mumbled. It seems that she understands this as well after all they're both alike in many ways. "How did it come to this?" Uzume looked down with her shoulders slumped in mental exhaustion. She looked ready and willing to commit ritual seppuku almost. "I really disappointed Mutsu huh?" She asked my way, and I shook my head at her with little to say to her. While I'm at fault for what just transpired, I wasn't the one that charged half way across the city to stab a man. I haven't even done that yet, and I've killed a lot of beings.

I placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention then gestured to the sushi restaurant. "Come on. Let's get some food Uzume." I took her hand and gently guided her to the door. She didn't fight it and appeared downcast from everything that just transpired. I gripped my chest tightly to stop the bleeding. It hurt a great deal to put even an inch of pressure on the wound. It was a decently sized hole. Around the size of my palm and it was difficult ensuring it didn't hit my heart. That might have finished me.

"I tried to kill you," Uzume gasped as if the realization just came to her. "Oh God I tried to kill my ashikabi!"

"Calm down Uzume. I'm not dead. I'm hard to kill you should know that." I've come back to the inn in much worse state and she should know this. While I don't like pain or to be hurt it still happens. I'm not invulnerable. "And as for Mutsu," I turned my eyes to the direction he left in. I grew silent for I'm not sure where to con from this.

"I still tried to. I wanted to. I was… desperate for some escape and I... Goddess I would've felt better if Mutsu would have slapped me. So much better."

I shook my head. "I'd worry more about Akitsu," I warned her. Just from the declaration she made before Innkeeper and myself I know she'd probably kill anything that harms me for both our sakes.

"Why do you say that?"

"It's just a thought." I answered swiftly. Its pretty hard hide a hole in your clothes or and bleeding one under my hand.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked the worried Uzume trying her best not to panic at the wound we caused. She stared hard at the hole in my clothes and I covered it.

"I'll be fine. It hurt sure but it's not fatal."

"But I stabbed you all the way through your body. I got at least hit a lung."

"You did," I simply put.

"Then how are you walking and breathing right now?"

"I'm a fast healer." I used the same excuse I gave to Mutsu.

"But you got impaled," she deadpanned, and I shrugged.

"It's not the first time," I was sad to say. "But don't worry this is a flesh wound and only lost a small amount of blood."

"Ah, okay." Uzume glanced at my chest and leaned over to look at my back once more and the dark hole in my clothes. "How is that even possible?"

"I'll show you Uzume. I know it won't be easy but be patient until we are back at the inn. I need one week before I can show you a bit more but anything you need to cope, I'm going to be here to guide you through it all."

"Does that mean I can sleep with you now because I really need to," she snickered, and I nodded. "And what do you mean by show me. How are you going to show me who you are?"

"Mind walking," I responded and prepared for a short explanation once I saw her expected confusion. "It's a technique that was devised by witches and warlocks to devise a way for soundless communication and efficient use of unsupportive time like during sleep. Two souls two and meld for a time then the minds are linked to allow a trade of information and much more." I looked back and noticed that Uzume still was trying to wrap her ear around this, so I simplified further. "We can both read each other's thought, feelings, emotions, and memories while we sleep together."

"Oh. That doesn't sound too difficult, I think?"

"It's not but I've avoided doing this with you for a reason Uzume." I felt a cold sensation at my chest and glanced down. I noticed a greenish Od within and the hole closing the rest of the way. Finally it's done. I dropped my hand down and faced my sekirei. "I promise not to hide from you in the dark. You'll join me in it since staying in the light is casting such a large shadow over you."

"I don't like the dark Otieno-kun," She admitted to me. "But I hate being in the dark even more so don't worry ne," she smiled at me. "I can take anything you throw at me."

I looked at her blankly. "We'll see." With that I opened the door to the sushi restaurant and walked in with Uzume right behind me. Everyone seemed to be silent once I entered our quarter and a good bit of them traveled from the blood on my chest towards a clean Uzume standing silently behind me. You could say she's almost hiding away from their gazes. I grabbed a chair from one of the tables and placed it down next to mine to the left where Seo sat and rank quietly. He moved over to get it space and I waited for Uzume. She sat down but not before passing me a quick "thank you" and sat down in the chair. I followed and sat next to her back next to Akitsu once more. I rubbed my chest again once I felt a little tingling which subsided in seconds before drawing my attention to the rest of the individuals at the table not looking at me or Uzume. Akitsu was the only one looking at me and that was at the area where I was impaled. Her drink was frozen and the air around her was over ten degrees lower than the rest.

I drew my eyes towards Mutsu and his cup was shattered but still together it seems. He must have been very edgy during the ordeal between Uzume and I. On the bright side at least, they didn't have to watch everything that transpired during our fallout. That would have been bad.

"So…" Seo cleared his throat first before continuing. "Do you two normally stab each other in that way or is it just a special thing between ashikabi and sekirei I didn't know about?" Uzume but her lip at the mention of the stabbing that transpired and glared at Seo. The man sighed and reached for his drink and took a sip. "A sekirei actually trying to willingly kill their ashikabi, that's a First that's for sure," Seo stated seriously before letting his eyes bore into Uzume. She didn't have a defense for herself after Seo is right. From all the information compiled from word of mouth and a few documents I read through sekirei are supposed to be completely servient towards their ashikabi meaning following orders and never turning on their master. My sekirei are not like that against their will other than Karasuba because our bond pathways are open at all times. Uzume can say no and has relatively decent free will to do whatever she wants same with Mutsu. He's smacked me over the head once or twice and told me to stop being a fool before. He was right but still it happened.

"You saw everything?" I questioned. How did they see anything, because I know they didn't leave this room?

Seo pointed towards the widows that happened to have the blinds open and to show the area where Uzume and I were clearly. So they all had front seats so the conflict between the two of us. Well that's not good and it was shown in Seo's expression. "I'm not gonna get into your business man but that was unreal. If your…"

"It was a one time thing," Uzume stressed but Seo wasn't convinced.

"Yeah, if you say so Uzume." He finished his drink then stood up. "I'm gonna head out. You got my number man, so I'll be hearing from you right?" I nodded silently. "Then I'll catch you later hopefully without so many holes to the chest." Seo made a two-finger salute and goodbye gesture before walking away with his sekirei in toll leaving me and my own alone at the table. I took a breath and stood up as well.

"I'm tired. Let's head back." My sekirei all stood up same with Homura and Akitsu all of whom lost their appetite seeing that half of their plates remain. Even I'm not hungry at the moment and eager to lay down to rest of the night. Tonight, hasn't been my best that's for sure.

"Let's head back," I sighed and stood up to leave.

"I agree," Mutsu said in a monotone and took to my side between Uzume and I. Uzume looked down from the glare, but I wasn't the only one she received. Akitsu was glaring a hole into Uzume. Her chains rattled a bit and she's not even moving. Kochō silently logged away what she must have recorded by with paler knuckles than before as if she was gripping something to the point that the blood left her fingers.

"God damn it," Uzume said under her breath.

"Do not fault Uzume," I commanded ever single sekirei in this room. I felt a dark feeling in my soul just to see them treat my Angel like this. "And cut out the stares right now… that goes for every single one of us unless you want to deal with me personally."

"Of course," Homura looked away.

"Very well," Kochō looked down at her tablet.

"Yes master," Akitsu confirmed understanding.

"Good." I rumbled. "Now let's go." I stood up from my seat with the funds needed to pay for the food down on the counter. "I'm… tired?" I questioned before looking down at my hands. They're shaking a bit and I feel my vision swimming a bit.

"Tired," Mutsu rose an eyebrow at me before walking in front of me. He took my hands in his and examined them. Then his eyes traveled up to mine and he gazed into me. I just about looked away from his piercing gaze feeling a bit… uncertain? I'm feeling uncertain!? Mutsu suddenly placed his hand on my forehead and closed his eyes. I stood frozen in place as he performed his diagnosis.

"M-Mutsu I'm fine," I tried to affirm before reaching up to his hand with a smile on my lips to assure him. "So you don't need to fuss over m eokay."

Mutsu's eyes widened in shock and some manner of realization that I couldn't fathom. He sighed and shook his head. "It's your time," he muttered and took his hand gently out from my grip. "But this is worse. What's going on," he questioned, and I turned my head over to the side in confusion.

"What do you mean," I asked.

"Yeah bro what do you mean," Uzume walked up to me and took my arm in hers same with my hand. "What's wrong with him," Uzume caressed my cheek and I smiled at the softness of her touch. I leaned in a bit and leaned towards her. I like this feeling. "Okay!" Uzume backed away from me suddenly and I reached for her a bit. "What is with you?"

"What are you two talking about," I tried ask but to no answer. I nearly begged when I said this… I nearly begged. "Oh no!" I cried and gripped my eyes with my hands.

"Let's get to the inn," Mutsu said quickly before taking my hand in his to drag me away. "All of us. Now," he ordered before marching out of the restaurant.

"Bro what's with him!?" Uzume just about screamed in hysterics as I was dragged away.

"It doesn't matter," he shot her down.

"It appears to matter to you though Number Five," Kochō noted and he glared back at her.

"What is going on," Homura asked as well as he followed close behind me.

"Don't worry about it," Mutsu answered firmly and tugged me away. I could barely think straight right now. My mind is full of stuff. What's going on with me?

* * *

 **Change of POV**

* * *

It's too early for this. Otieno cannot be suffering from one of his periods now. No this isn't a period though. It's a regression and the fourth one at that. His periods of weakness come, and they go but during a regression; if Mutsu had it his way he'd lock his ashikabi up in a room until he got better. With Karasuba absent as well he's unsure if he could prevent a Fallout from happening.

Mutsu witnessed what happens to a mind or body of a being the suffers from a fallout and its rightly titled this as well. A demon of sorts in the Dominican Republic two months back and then again with a beast in South America. During those trips it almost cost them everything they had to survive. If a monster gets between them and the inn, or at least a safe house, Mutsu didn't want to think about what might happen.

This doesn't make any sense at all though. This happened two weeks ago on the proper time of the New Moon. He had his period of weakness and rested peacefully with Karasuba and him as his left and right respectfully. There were no issues and they continued on as if nothing happened. This weakness period isn't due for another week and a half at the least and yet he knows that signs better than anyone.

The wavering eyes and trembling hands. Otieno's nervous reactions from Uzume's touch. In the middle of Spider's territory as well. This is bad. They have to get back to the north and back to the inn quickly.

"Brother, what hell is going on!" Uzume shot in front of Mutsu and made him frown. At the moment he didn't know how to explain this, and neither did he wish to. The sooner they get to the inn the better. That or maybe they can go to Karasuba. She'd have a field day to see him like this again but would kill anything that'd show themselves a danger to her ashikabi.

"Not right now," Mutsu dismissed Uzume with a wave and pushed past her. Uzume stepped back with her eyes wide and confused to all hell. The same could equally be said about the rest of the little group they've amassed.

"Is something wrong," Homura questioned with his arms crossed impatiently over his chest.

"I…" Mutsu halted his words and turned his attention towards the south. He felt her coming and fast. 'Good,' Mutsu almost sighed in relief. Never could imagine he'd be relieved to see Karasuba ever in his life, but their ashikabi brought them together in the end. "No, everything is fine," the earth bound sekirei answered. "There's nothing to worry about. Let's go. Ashikabi-sama," Mutsu called to his chosen. Otieno rubbed his head harshly before looking up to him.

"Mutsu… Am I?" Otieno didn't finish.

"Yes. We need to go. She's on her way now and we can escort you to the Inn."

"No," Otieno shook his head before swaying a bit on his feet. Mutsu grimaced at this. The regression was proceeding quickly if he's already losing his balance. "I'm… I'm f-fine. I…" Otieno began to stumble down.

"Otieno!" Uzume was the first to come to his side and help balance him up to his feet. Akitsu moved to his opposite side to assisted with keeping the powerful ashikabi up as well. "Bro, what's going on with him?" Uzume demanded from him but for the life of him Mutsu couldn't answer. The eyes and ears of this town are everywhere, and he can't risk anyone discovering this fatal weakness of his. So far only three know and it's for the betterment of the world it stays that way.

"He will explain once he's better Uzume."

"But he…"

"He's like this for a reason," Mutsu frowned with a stern glare on Uzume. She looked taken back by this look and questioned on why. "Otieno lives his life guarding his mind and body from emotions. It was for a reason." Mutsu left it at that and took point once more. "Follow me. We need to get to our place. Seo, you're finished here."

"But…" Mutsu glared at the ashikabi putting a halt to any defiance. "Fine. Come on girls." Seo sighed and walked past him with a glare of his own. "Look Mutsu, I understand that you and your Ashikabi have… issues, but if they might put this city in danger we should know."

"The city has always danger since the beginning. You just didn't know about it," Mutsu affirmed before turned away from Seo. "Follow me and be careful with him." He ordered the two sekirei holding his ashikabi. Mutsu slowly grew tense and ready until the time that their ashikabi is normal.

"Yeah, okay. Come on," Seo sighed and walked away from the group to return home. This twin pair of sekirei quickly followed after him but past them a sympathetic look for some reason.

"But brother. Mutsu?" Uzume tried to speak out, get some answers to alleviate her confusion. Mutsu simply dismissed her with a wave of his hand. Uzume grit her teeth. "Fuck this day," she spat to the side before looking towards Akitsu. A woman that seemed to study her ashikabi's face a little to closely. Akitsu even rose her hand to his head and pull his hood back on his hood.

"T-thank you," Otieno gasped before grunting from what Uzume could only conclude is pain. She face feel it in her bones. It's like her entire body is on fire right now and her vision a bit dizzy. It's almost like those few times when she felt her ashikabi instead of exploring emptiness like is typical with him. Hell, even now it seems all she can do is hold him up. Akitsu, a woman that's been her all seven hours, got a thank you from him but what about her?

"Tssk," Uzume clicked her tongue with a mess of emotions plaguing her conscious mind. She's not sure what is happening or why her ashikabi is too weak to stand, but there's one fact she did realize. "This is all might fault," she snorts and shook her head to clear it. No, she can't lose it just yet. Her ashikabi needs her to do something for him. He never truly needed her before, but she can at least help him get to wherever Mutsu needed to lead them.

This entire day is fucked. This line of though crossed past every sekirei connected to the Ashikabi Otieno but the source wasn't from him. Mutsu and Kochō turned their eyes towards Uzume and the downcast expression labeled on her face. The bond is open. The dam has fallen. That means that everything that Otieno held back before was flooding into them all and it left them discombobulated almost to the point of stumbling at well. They can fell the powerful emotions of the other for Otieno is simply a path of least resistance in the circuit that is the bonding chain. Mutsu has seen the darkness within his ashikabi and embraced the light same with Karasuba. These two others haven't. 'If only we told her something this wouldn't have happened here and now,' Mutsu cursed with his eyes flowing towards Uzume every couple of seconds.

Kochō herself held her surface tablet up and made notes ever passing second. She's applying the thoughts, feelings, and sensations on paper rather than suffering them like Uzume and Mutsu. She noted that powerful ashikabi have the ability to overtake human limits and even grow with their sekirei but the adverse is that it bonds sekirei together. Kochō knows that anything she's feeling right now isn't spawned from her own tama. Uzume is the most insufferable and imposing force of nature in her ashikabi's life. She made that note seeing that everything that he did, said, and reacted revolved around Sekirei number 10. Even now when Uzume turned against her adjustments and came to literally kill her ashikabi, a feat she believed highly unlikely, came to pass forcing her ashikabi into a mental collapse. Kochō is a brain sekirei after all and making into electronics isn't difficult to her for access. Her empathic abilities spawned her research into the human mind and it's electronic signals. The ones coming off her ashikabi are frantic when before they were steady.

Kochō glared at Uzume for what she caused because of her brash desperation. She didn't realize the power she holds over their ashikabi and this is the cause. She came to harm him and emitted soul shattering signals that even made Kochō lose her breath. Her Ashikabi took the blunt of it. He cut them off the best he could but Uzume forced her will upon him. Still, their ashikabi shielded them at the cost of his own stability. This sekirei might've harmed him more than she could imagine.

Uzume felt those eyes on her. She tried to ignore them the best she could, but they dug into her skin like a velvet dagger. This day, all of this just seemed random to her. This day as been on insane event after the next. The normality of the days and the nights all seem like a pipe dream up until this nightmare of a day. She wanted answers and to know more about her ashikabi. She just wanted to be closer to him in the same way he let everyone else. She wanted what she deserved after all this time. Instead she openly attacked her ashikabi and knows this, what is happening to him, is her fault. Kochō knows is and is glaring at her filled with something akin to anger bit isn't. Disgust is a better word. Mutsu-nii as well couldn't look at her without feeling some level of guilt and equal rates of disappointment. Even Akitsu looked at her with a deeper emptiness than what she's seen before. 'This is all my fault.'

Uzume wanted to cry again. She did at the inn today after he abandoned her there. She did again before her ashikabi and facing his dark and murderous side. She did again when he practically begged her to tell him how he could please her. Now she's about to cry again because she broke him in ways that even has Mutsu rattled. Mutsu is never rattled. He's too cool headed for that but his has him nearly frantic to get moving to somewhere. 'I didn't want this to happen,' Uzume thought to herself with her breath picking up. She can't even feel her ashikabi that well but what she could wasn't good. It's like a massive pit of frenzied confusion. Like a box of puzzle pieces spilled and thrown about a living room and you have to find every piece somehow to place it all together. Where do you even start to fix this?

"Homura," Mutsu glanced back to the fire sekirei. Homura pulled his eyes from Otieno long enough to draw his attention towards his caller. "You don't need to stay Homura."

"He's my friend Mutsu. I'm not leaving him like this," Homura said firmly leaving no room for argument. Homura never imagined that he'd get so close to such a strange man. Even Takami told him to be wary of this man and to possibly stay away from him. He's Minaka's favorite and at first he almost hated the man because of it. But after living, talking, and watching the man for weeks he can tell Otieno isn't a bad man. He does what he needs to do, that's the nicest note he's made of the man. He knows Otieno is a killer and has no issue with spilling blood but why he does it makes him different from a common scum back. Mutsu is an honorable man and doesn't follow through with morally wrong acts. The fact Mutsu follows Otieno without question is a show of the level of trust and faith shared between them. Otieno is almost a child given a gun and taught how to aim for the head and when to shoot. He's ignorant of the world outside of this Hunting thing he does, but he's not a bad man. He's been good to Homura and kept his secrets so Homura has done the same. They've helped sekirei together as well.

Otieno is a friend and won't abandon him.

"Very well," Mutsu muttered without turning around as he guided them through the streets.

"Where… Where are we going," Akitsu asked in her slow methodical manner. The question that most of them wondered except for Kochō. During the walk she's accessed the systems for her ashikabi's Dragon symbolized crime family. There're a couple buildings labeled safe houses in the distance and Mutsu was obviously leading them to the closest.

"To a safe place to rest. The inn is too far," Mutsu answered his old friend firmly.

"I see," Akitsu replied. She turned her attention back to the man that took her in.

Suddenly the sounds of a motor bike filled the air. The neighborhood has been quiet until now as a midnight black bike with a female figure rode up towards them. Mutsu stopped the group to face the rider.

"Finally," The bike scoffed before popping out her kick stand. It's been a good ride for her and hearing the thoughts and feelings of the weaklings around her ashikabi has gotten progressively more annoying by the minute. She's sure that the fools could hear her thoughts or maybe feel her emotions as well like she can them. The cow is guilty, Mutsu is on edge, glasses is pissed, and Homura is Homura.

"Who are you," Uzume yelled at the bike rider at the ready. She's willing to attack and kill anything that's a threat to her ashikabi now. She didn't care who.

"Yell at me again and I'll show you personally who I am," the rider responded with an unseen sneer. The rider pulled herself off her bike and turned it off.

Mutsu sighed in relief and let his body relax a bit now that the left was here, finally; just like what she said. "You got here quick," he confessed without hiding his surprise.

"Well, from what I felt I had to be. Don't want another Guatemala on our hands." The rider reached up to her helmet.

"Mutsu-nii who is that?" Uzume demanded.

"Karasuba." All eyes flowed towards the origin of that raspy and low voice. Otieno breathed this out in the middle of his panting. His cloudy eyes focused the best they could on the rider.

"What?" Uzume growled and glared at the rider.

"You idiot," Karasuba scoffed. She pulled the helmet off her head and let her hair flow out into the crisp cool air. Karasuba hung her helmet on her handle bars and grabbed her sword. Her eyes remained focused on her ashikabi's eyes. 'He's Falling out,' she deduced from the haziness within those pitch black orbs. Karasuba brushed past Mutsu who let her pass without a word.

"S-stay away from…"

SHING

The tip of Karasuba's sword stopped just shy of piecing into the cow's throat. "You… Stop talking." Karasuba warned. She could barely fight off her old lust for murder and death to kill this bitch out of principle. If she started to bad mouth her and even her ashikabi couldn't fault her for the bloody outcome. "This is all your fault, cow." Karasuba snarled and leaned inward to get into this girl's face. Miya has protected her for too long from her death same with Matsu. They both got lucky she was in a decent mood last time but with an unstable ashikabi filtering everything everywhere it's hard not to revert.

"He was fine before you went on a tantrum and I've half a mind to kill you. My ashikabi didn't need you and still doesn't need you. He needed only me, and maybe Mutsu, but then you ruined it with your prattle about love," Karasuba spat out to the side in disgust. Uzume grit in teeth in rage but the sword at her neck prevented her from opposing the Black Sekirei. One that's looking for just to finish what they started months ago. "You've shattered him and he's allowed it to happen. Idiot," Karasuba glared at her ashikabi's weak form. He couldn't even stand without assistance right now.

"I'm sorry," Otieno looked down in shame. "I didn't m-mean for t-th-this…" The frail ashikabi tried to get out. "Forgive me, beautiful." He finally finished earning a look of shock and betrayal from Uzume.

"You're not forgiven," the black sekirei said in a whisper as she stepped in front of her ashikabi. She rose he hand and cupped the fools cheek and smiled as he leaned into her touch. He could never resist her touch and admittedly she never tried to resist his. There wouldn't had been a point. Karasuba glanced Uzume's way and grew smug at what she felt from the Veil Sekirei. "What's wrong cow," Karasuba smirked. She dropped her sword for what she felt was more pain than she could've inflicted with a sword. "He never calls you beautiful to your face before like he does me every time, he sees me." Karasuba made sure the final three words came out slow and full of snark.

"Bitch!" Uzume spat at the black sekirei in anger. That sick smile on Karasuba's lips only grew from the barking.

"Funny thing is that I don't force him to like you apparently do," Karasuba chuckled a bit at the growing rage and desire to kill radiating off the cow.

"Karasuba," Mutsu said firmly.

"What?" Karasuba sighed and faced the General.

"Stop antagonizing Uzume. We have to get him to a safe house," Mutsu reminded her evenly.

"Hm," Karasuba grunted before sparing Uzume one last look. "Fine. Let's go. I got left." Mutsu was right. She has time to torture the cow later.

Mutsu nodded. "I have right." Like always.

"I'm rear," Homura said, uncrossing his arms. He's witnessed the relationship that the Black Sekirei and Otieno have first hand weeks ago. They've actually drank and ate dinner together once. It wasn't by choice but Otieno insisted leaving no room for refusal. Always when they walked together he'd fall behind them for Karasuba was like a yandere when around her ashikabi. She'd attack like a rabid dog if anyone even looked at him with interest. Mutsu was always aware and protected his strong sided. Homura would fall behind for there was nowhere else to be. Even now it's the same.

"Good," Mutsu said and walked to the bike. "Are you okay leaving this here, Karasuba?"

"It's fine. He can always get me another one. I called Vic to pick it up," she waved off his concern. God help anyone that takes and bike before Vic gets here. If she doesn't find them then Vic will. If Vic can't then Otieno will. Running from him is like trying to run away from the sun rise. "And stop staring at me cow," Karasuba matched Uzume glare for glare.

"What was he thinking winging a monster like you?" Uzume scoffed.

Instead of being insulted or angry Karasuba just smirked. "He was thinking about fucking me." Karasuba's smile grew at the horror that filled the cow. "And hard as well." Karasuba snickered before getting on line with Mutsu and walk on to the safe house at his defense. Karasuba took a breath to allow the bond to open fully. Together, Mutsu and her can help balance out their idiot just like before to quicken his regression.

"So," Karasuba glanced back during the walk. "You're both new." It's hard not to notice the two new additions and one hasn't emerged thanks to her ashikabi. She recognized her well, but it appears Akitsu didn't recognize her. Karasuba felt it was a real shame as well. 'What's up with her,' she sent mentally through the bond towards Mutsu. He glanced at her then at Akitsu's forehead. Karasuba did the same. At first she didn't noticed it because of the darkness and bangs, but the proof of her scrapped status was there. Otieno picked up a stray, again. That left the last one.

"I'm Kochō number 22. I'm a brain sekirei or Insight Sekirei to be more accurate. I was winged by your ashikabi today." Kochō worded carefully. She didn't wish to be in the antipathy of the Black Sekirei. Kochō has studied the psyche profile of every sekirei that she desired for her ashikabi and this one was included. Her abandonment issues made her overly clingy to what she believes is hers, nearing Compulsive Individualistic Possessiveness. It's dangerous to be between this sort of person and what she wants. 'Best to not be a target,' Kochō concluded.

"Love your wording as if afraid I'll harm you for stating the obvious," Karasuba simply smiled before facing back to the front. She passed a couple comments Mutsu's way and he'd respond accordingly.

Kochō let out a breath and went back to her notes.

Uzume watched the banter between the two in confusion. 'Are they that close?' Uzume questioned. She believed that no one could even do this with the Black Sekirei without a sword to the face. The sociopath that is Karasuba is infamous in the sekirei world for the thousands she's murdered and few sekirei she's killed slowly. One was deactivated by a recorded thousand cuts with a blunt sword. It's neither honorable or sane. It's sickening. Still, this was the first Sekirei he had emerged and Uzume felt almost disgusted. The same lips the took her breath away touched Karasuba's.

Uzume would've started a battle here and now for her shit if not for her, their ashikabi. He called Karasuba beautiful, but that bitch is average at best. Uzume has better tits, a better figure, taller, and even more gentle than this crazy bitch. Why does he call her beautiful though? Uzume can't remember a time that he called her beautiful. Angel yeah, but never beautiful. What about Karasuba made her beautiful to him?

"Don't worry little 10," Karasuba smirked at the corner of her lips. "We'll hash this out once we get to the safe house. After, then we can… talk." Karasuba decided to call what she had planed for the cow.

"Talk huh? Yeah," Uzume nodded with thought that can be labeled as criminal. "Let's talk."

Mutsu looked between the two women and sighed. This is what happens with two opposites are drawn together. This was one hell of a time for this to happen. "One of those kinds of days." He muttered as the safe house grew ever closer.

* * *

A/N: This was very experiment to jump from one POV to the next until a total overhead third person one. This also took a moment as I tried to compile my thoughts on this story and a few others. Hopefully it came together well enough and if not let me know.


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